Employers: Stop ‘ghosting’ your job applicants!

Have you ever spent hours applying for a role, only to receive no response from the employer? Annoying, isn’t it? This is called ghosting, and it’s becoming an increasingly common issue throughout the job market.

If you’ve ever been ghosted, you’ve probably been left with a negative impression of the offending employer. This is why it’s crucial to avoid ghosting job applicants, even if they aren’t right for the role in question. 

Here’s why employers need to stop ghosting their job applicants, and how they can take action…

Why do employers ghost job applicants?

Employers may end up ghosting job applicants for a number of reasons – either intentionally, or unintentionally. This often happens when applicants fail to meet the employers’ set criteria for the vacant role, leading to their application being pushed aside.

However, difficulties in managing recruitment campaigns may even lead to employers ghosting entirely compatible candidates. In this case, both the employer and applicant lose out on an otherwise ideal opportunity.

Why is ‘ghosting’ candidates so bad?

Ghosting your candidates is never a good idea – even if they aren’t exactly what you’re looking for. Failing to respond to applicants gives them a negative impression of your employer brand, damaging your reputation in the wider job market.

First impressions stick; when candidates have put time and effort into an application, the least they could ask for is a response from your hiring team. Failing to do this will quickly lower your reputation within the job market, making it more difficult to attract compatible talent in future.

Read more: Why candidates are ignoring you…

How to stop ghosting your job applicants

While it may seem difficult to keep on top of each and every one of your candidates, there are actions you can take to avoid ghosting future applicants:

#1 – Set up contact automations (email/SMS)

Contact automations ensure every application you receive is met with a personalised, on-brand response from your business. This works by scheduling email/SMS comms to be sent out once a candidate submits their application, and at various hiring stages thereafter. 

Certain templates even allow you to personalise automated comms automatically. Messages can be scheduled to be delivered at specific stages, such as in receipt of application, interview booking confirmation, and onboarding comms.

Automating certain communication with your applicants saves valuable time for your hiring team, while maintaining your employer brand’s responsive reputation.

#2 – Make it easier to manage/filter candidates with an ATS

One of the main reasons employers end up ghosting job applicants is due to difficulty in managing their hiring campaigns. When met with a large number of applications, it can be difficult to stay on top of candidate communications – leading to many being ‘ignored’.

Using an applicant tracking system (ATS) makes it easier for your team to manage even the largest of hiring campaigns. The platform puts all of your candidates’ information in one place – allowing you to filter, manage, and engage all of your applicants equally.

Your ATS can even be combined with contact automation tools to ensure consistency in your candidate/recruiter comms. This ensures every single candidate receives a unique response from your business – no matter how many applications you attract.

#3 – Reduce the gap between application and engagement

Employers often end up ghosting their applicants without even realising it. Candidates expect a response within a certain period after submitting their application. If you fail to do this, applicants may assume that their submission has been ignored altogether.

To avoid this, you need to decrease the time between candidates’ initial application and their first point of contact. Make sure this remains consistent; follow up on every application within a certain period (e.g. 1 week) after submission. 

Automations within your ATS make this a whole lot easier. AI recruiter scorecards, for example, analyse applications to identify your most compatible candidates – automatically progressing them to the next hiring stage.

When combined with contact automation tools, this ensures that each of your candidates receives a timely response from your brand – whether successful or unsuccessful. It also allows you to engage your most compatible candidates right away – avoiding the risk of them being picked up by another employer.

Check out AI screening automations with Talos ATS

#4 – Keep applicants in the loop – even when they’re unsuccessful

‘Ghosting’ doesn’t just apply to compatible candidates – it’s just as important to reach out to unsuccessful applicants. Failing to do so can harm your employer brand’s reputation within the job market, dissuading valuable candidates from applying in future.

Make sure every application is met with a response from your business. This can be achieved by using contact automation tools as discussed earlier.

If possible, try to give unsuccessful candidates personalised feedback on their applications. This helps to maintain your reputation with active talent – adding value to their experience, even if they don’t get the role!

While the applicant may not be suitable for the role on this occasion, they may be the ideal fit for a future vacancy. It’s therefore crucial to maintain your relationships with unsuccessful applicants, encouraging them to remain in touch with your brand’s opportunities.

Introducing…

Talos ATS: Make recruitment comms easy!

Want an easier way to manage recruitment? Talos ATS is our all-in-one hiring solution for employers, making it easier than ever to attract, engage, and hire the best talent.

Automated candidate screening & communication

Talos comes with intuitive automations in candidate screening and communication, using AI scorecards to automatically identify your strongest applicants.

The integrated contact automation suite allows you to schedule personalised communications to be delivered at specific hiring stages. This ensures each and every one of your candidates receives a response from your business, removing the risk of ‘ghosting’ entirely!

Talos ATS includes:

• Next-generation Applicant Tracking System
• Multi-platform job-poster 
• Automated progression of your strongest applicants
• Recruitment advertising suite
• Video screening and interview platform
• SMS/email update automation for candidates
• Remote onboarding tools

Discover an easier way to manage hiring – cut costs and save time with Talos ATS: