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Why Candidates Ghost Interviews—and How to Stop It

Even though Halloween is firmly in our rearview mirror, we’re still getting reports of ghosts from many of our business partners. 

Well, ghosting, anyway. That’s still pretty terrifying!

For those of you unfamiliar with ghosting, consider yourself blessed. A job candidate who ghosts you is one of the most frustrating aspects of hiring for a new position. You’ve already committed resources to the job search, to the interview scheduling, and to all of the potential complications that come with getting to know a new candidate, and then they just … don’t show up. No call, no show. It’s not just frustrating because it’s unprofessional and rude, but because it puts you back at square one.

Whether you’re hiring for a single position or trying to fill out your seasonal workforce with multiple employees, it doesn’t matter: getting ghosted is a colossal waste of time. Why do candidates do it? And, more importantly, how can you stop it from happening? Let’s explore.

Why Do Candidates Ghost the Job Interview?

Ever heard of Occam’s Razor? In short, Occam’s Razor is the idea that the most simple explanation is probably the correct one. With our ghost candidates, it usually boils down to the obvious reason: that person just wasn’t a serious candidate. But let’s unpack that some (and also take a look at other realistic explanations).

If a candidate applies to your job opening, submits a resume and maybe even a cover letter, talks on the phone or emails with someone to arrange an interview, and then ghosts said interview without warning, the uncertainty of not knowing why can be maddening. But, Occam’s Razor says, the reality is that they probably just weren’t truly ready to take on the job. Whether they missed their alarm and were too embarrassed to call in to reschedule, completely forgot about the interview, received a more appealing offer elsewhere, or simply changed their mind, each of these symptoms points to one diagnosis: They weren’t taking it as seriously as you were. And that sure would have been nice to know before you extended an interview invitation!

How to Prevent Unserious Applicants From Ghosting

At Allevity, we have an entire division of recruiting and staffing professionals with combined decades of experience working with candidates and maintaining candidate databases. We establish parameters and filters to identify quality candidates specific to the job you want to fill, and we cull from those lists to find the best ones. Often this means strong recommendations from previous employers, or a prior working relationship with Allevity. We work hard to identify candidates as someone we can vouch for or not. 

You know how Santa Claus has a naughty and nice list? Allevity does too. (Guess which list you go on for ghosting your interview.) The bottom line is that we’ve been around the block a few times when it comes to getting to know the labor market. We can help you separate the wheat from the chaff, so to speak, by filtering out employees that we know to be unserious applicants.

Other Reasons Job Candidates Ghost

There are reasons to be gracious toward candidates who ghost–occasionally. Applying to a new job can be a stressful, anxious experience, and especially for young candidates without well-developed professional coping skills, the easier out can be to ghost the interview. And then, of course, it’s rather embarrassing to call in and explain why. A gracious employer might extend some empathy on the rare occasion this happens, especially if you were over the moon about the candidate’s resume or if you’d had some pre-interview interfacing where you had a great feeling about the applicant’s fit with your organization.

A candidate might also ghost an interview for emergency reasons, but it’s difficult from your perspective to accurately gauge what’s truly an emergency and what’s just a fabricated excuse. That’s where having an employer organization like Allevity comes in handy. We can tell you if the applicant has a history of skipping interviews because of an abundance of dead grandmothers or flat tires, or if you might extend the benefit of the doubt this one time based on the candidate’s track record.

In short, it’s frustrating to get ghosted by candidates. You want your applicants to be reliable and it’s very hard work to find quality people. Once you find them, you want to make sure they go through the whole interview process. We can help you navigate the labor market and find workers who are serious about finding a job. Give us a call—we’re here to help.

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