Unfortunately, it has become a common occurrence for candidates to ghost interviews in today’s world. Sadly, we are now seeing more and more candidates ghost start dates and offers in addition to interviews.
Some pockets of the country are experiencing ghosting at a much higher rate than in other places. For example, Southern California has a very high ghost rate. The cause of this is multi-faceted and includes variables such as traffic, government assistance programs, and extremely competitive markets.
So what can you do to stop candidates from ghosting?
Communication
One of the easiest and most effective solutions for ghosting is to simply stay in constant communication with your applicants. At Work With Your Handz we email candidates the night before the interview and send a text in the morning to ensure that the time and date still work. Making the process as convenient as possible is a good way to prevent ghosting caused by scheduling conflicts.
Use Tech
According to Venture Beat (https://venturebeat.com/2015/03/27/why-businesses-cant-ignore-sms-hint-90-of-people-read-a-text-message-within-the-first-3-minutes/), “90% of text messages are read within three minutes,” so you can be pretty sure that candidates will read your messages and feel compelled to reply. In our interview process we tell the candidate we will need a confirmation from them the morning of the interview. Our email the evening before includes language on why it’s essential to not ghost. It seems intuitive to not burn bridges and common courtesy to most of us, but we spell it out nonetheless.
Easy Communication
Another option, although one that is not always easy to institute, is letting candidates self-schedule their own interviews. This doesn’t work for every client, but in leu of self-scheduling we try to arrange discussions at the best time for the candidate with the client, if possible.
Flow of Information
Another important step for candidates is keeping them informed of the process. If a recruiter knows there will be multiple interviews or assessments involved, then sharing that information is important. Setting expectations in the beginning can help prevent drop off during the middle of the process. Dragging out an inscrutable process is a deterrent to anyone, and knowing it might be drawn out before a decision is made is paramount to keeping candidates engaged.
Value
Explaining why our client is the employer of choice and the value proposition for the company can also keep candidates from ghosting. We get to know our clients through our calibration call, at the beginning of a search, as well as through site visits and weekly check-in calls. Getting to know our client’s culture and brand is something we do very well; and conveying that message to the candidate is of the utmost importance.
Most employers today want to take away barriers to entry. Assessments can be seen as a hindrance. However, there is a theory that while you may get fewer applicants, the quality will be much better because you will only have the very interested candidates to interview. Making sure that the assessment is not too lengthy and is specific to the role helps.
Remember, anything you can do to make the onboarding experience easier diminishes the chances of being ghosted.
Ghosting is unfortunately here to stay but following some of these helpful tips will allow your company to keep it at the lowest rate possible.
Contact WORK WITH YOUR HANDZ today to find out how we can help with your recruiting needs.