Silent rejections: Ghosting disrupts India’s job market
Ghosting leaves job seekers anxious and disillusioned
In April 2024, an online survey revealed in India that 73 pc of 1,000 respondents experienced ghosting from their prospective employers. As a result, job seekers have been left anxious and disillusioned with the entire job-hunting process in India.
On the evening November 23, 2024, Suman Rawat, a recent postgraduate in mass communication from Delhi’s prestigious Indian Institute of Mass Communication with experience working at two media companies, anxiously checked her email. After two months of relentless job applications, she finally received a callback for a newsroom position at a reputed media organisation. An online interview was scheduled for the next day after discussions with the company’s Human Resources (HR) department.
However, on the interview day, despite thorough preparation, Suman was left staring at her screen until the company called to inform her that the interview was delayed due to state elections. It was rescheduled for the following day, but the online link never arrived. Repeated attempts to contact the company went unanswered, leaving Rawat disheartened as she resumed her grueling job hunt on various job portals.
Rawat’s story is just one of millions of incidents where candidates have fallen victim to the growing epidemic among recruiters known as ghosting.
Ghosting, a term that came into use in the early 2000s during a period of significant technological and social change, refers to the practice where candidates or recruiters abruptly cease communication without providing any explanation or follow-up.
Initially, this behaviour was limited to dating and romantic relationships. However, over the following decade, it began to extend to interactions with friends, family, and acquaintances and has now infiltrated professional settings involving employers, candidates and recruiters.
Ghosting can occur at any stage of the job-hunting process—whether during a first interview, after submitting a sample, or even when HR or the company promises to make a job offer. This issue has now become a widespread problem.
Aliyah Lone, a resident of Srinagar, capital of Jammu & Kashmir, and a customer executive with six years of experience, currently working in the business outsourcing division of a prestigious multinational company, also had to undergo a harrowing experience of ghosting.
Facing a critical family crisis, Lone was compelled to start her job search early in life. Despite her persistent efforts, she struggled to find success until a reputed sales company responded to her application. During the interview process, she was selected for the position. However, although it is customary to receive a formal job offer after selection, Lone never received one. Despite repeated attempts to contact HR, she never got a callback, leaving her efforts in vain.
“During a difficult time in my life, with family issues weighing on me, I desperately needed a job. I sent my CV to countless recruiters on LinkedIn, hoping for a chance. Finally, I got a call, was interviewed, and selected for the job. I thought my struggles were over. But despite multiple follow-ups, I never received an offer letter. It felt like the company took advantage of my vulnerability, leaving me with no explanation. I was heartbroken and lost, until, much later, I finally received an offer from a well-known multinational company,” Lone tells Media India Group.
Aaliyah’s experience highlights how leaving candidates in the dark and failing to provide transparency about their status creates uncertainty. It undermines their confidence in their abilities and skills, filling them with anxiety about the future and how they will support their families. It also leaves them questioning where they went wrong in the process.
Applying for jobs, preparing cover letters, writing about why one needs the job, and going through the grueling interview process, only to never receive an answer, then starting all over again, uncertain whether the next opportunity is genuine or not. This is not a one-off incident. Many job candidates go through this cycle two or three times, if not more.
Swati Pandey, a journalist with two years of experience, has endured the ghosting process four or five times. She emphasises that many in her circle have either experienced it themselves or are currently facing the same challenge. While talking about this prevailing trend, she has her traumatic tale to tell.
Pandey recalls receiving a callback for an interview, feeling hopeful and excited. After going through the entire process, she was left waiting, but the company never got back to her. Despite reaching out multiple times, she received no answer, leaving her feeling confused and upset. She couldn’t help but wonder, ‘What happened? Was there something I missed? Why was I left in the dark?’
Pandey says that besides ghosting, she was also victim of employers not offering the salary promised during the interview and recruitment process.
Before joining her current company, she was ghosted for an entire month. After being selected, the company assured her that the onboarding process would begin soon and the necessary paperwork would be provided. At this juncture she resigned from her previous job.
However, despite these promises, the company never followed through until much later. When they finally reached out, they offered her a salary much lower than what had been initially promised. With no other option, she reluctantly accepted the offer.
Meanwhile, a Germany-based job portal company, Jobleads, has recently made a striking revelation about the job-hunting landscape. According to Jobleads, around 45 pc of employees have been ghosted by employers as of October 2024, marking a significant increase in recent years.
Another job portal Indeed has also published similar results, claiming it has surveyed over 4,000 job seekers and nearly 900 employers across multiple industries to understand the prevalence of ghosting in the job sector.
According to Indeed, around 83 pc of employees have experienced being ghosted by prospective employers. While specific data for India has not been disclosed, an online survey conducted by Business Standard, a business newspaper, found that 73 pc of 1,000 respondents admitted to being ghosted by potential employers. This rising trend of ghosting is not limited to the global job market; it is now impacting India as well, where the unemployment rate among youth seeking jobs has risen to 37 pc in the fiscal year 2023-24. The post-pandemic unemployment rate stands at 8 pc, according to CMIE.
As a result, there is a clear correlation between companies exploiting people’s desperation and the large talent pool, contributing to the rise in ghosting of candidates and job seekers in India, as reflected in recent testimonials shared by job candidates on LinkedIn.
The employers and HR departments, on the other hand have their own reasons and versions of ghosting.
Rhea Doshi, a veteran HR professional from Mumbai, says several factors contribute to ghosting in the current job market. A high volume of recruitment and shifting priorities often create communication gaps. Companies may unintentionally ghost candidates due to the absence of structured communication policies. As a result, companies tend to ghost candidates.
Additionally, some companies also post ‘ghost jobs’ to showcase growth, build talent pipelines, or meet legal requirements, even when immediate hiring isn’t planned.
In many cases, hiring teams are overwhelmed by the influx of applications and fail to keep candidates updated throughout the process. Moreover, with the rise of automation in recruitment, organisations often rely on applicant tracking systems (ATS) that do not prioritise personalised follow-ups. Ghosting can also happen when hiring managers are reluctant to deliver negative feedback or when job roles are unexpectedly frozen or cancelled. Thus, reflecting a lack of organisational communication, plaguing companies.
However, ghosting goes beyond personal disappointment as it is not just a matter of shrugging off a missed job opportunity and moving on.
The impact can be far deeper and more challenging to overcome. Jobseekers often facing ghosting from their prospective employers, which can negatively impact a candidate’s mental health, as it results in disappointment, self-doubt and anxiety.
For those who suffer from financial instability and are simultaneously dealing with job market pressures, this lack of closure can exacerbate stress and emotional strain.
Additionally, companies are also affected in the long term, as ghosting erodes trust and leaves candidates feeling undervalued. Moreover, this practice can damage the organisation‘s reputation in competitive talent markets. Competent candidates may avoid applying due to the negative ‘ghosting grapevine’, while existing employees, feeling insecure in their positions, may also begin seeking opportunities elsewhere to ensure job stability.
According to Doshi, companies can take several steps to address this raging problem such as standardising communication, leveraging human-centric technology, training empathetic recruiters and seeking candidate feedback and foster a culture valuing respectful interactions to ensure a better hiring process.
“Organisations can address ghosting by implementing clear communication protocols, combining technology with a human touch, and training recruiters to prioritize empathy. Seeking candidate feedback and fostering a culture that values respectful interactions can enhance the hiring process and strengthen brand reputation in the job market,” Doshi tells Media India Group.