Ghosting: what makes candidates stop sending news?

Candidate ghosting: “revenge” on recruiters?

You know the saying: don't do to others what you wouldn't like them to do to you. Is ghosting by candidates a way for talent to take revenge on recruiters in recent years?

Which candidate has never applied for a job and never received a reply? Which candidate has never received an automatic, impersonal negative response? Which candidate has never waited weeks for a response after an interview?

Very few. And yet, despite the talent and manpower shortages faced by the industry today, candidates can still experience this kind of situation.

As a recruiter, you might not be doing this, but you may be suffering from some of your peers' bad habits. Candidates today feel that you need them as much as they need you. And they're not wrong.

The key? Understand what's bothering them and then adapt. Know that many candidate journey improvements can be implemented without any extra effort, time or budget - no reason why you shouldn't take advantage!

The key figures below are taken from our study conducted with YouGov in 2023 on the theme of candidates' expectations regarding their relationship with recruiters.

Find out more: Employment and recruitment jargon explained

Things that irritate candidates so much that they abandon the recruitment process without telling you

The fact that a candidate has started a recruitment process doesn't mean they'll continue to be a candidate until you decide to hire them or give them negative feedback.

Here are the 6 things that can make them give up, ranked from least to most problematic...

[N°6] 16% of candidates give up if they don't get any advice at each stage of the recruitment process

This is an even more frequent obstacle for young people, 29% of whom give up. It makes sense! In the early years of a career, it's even more important to be guided, because you don't always know how recruitment works: stages, how to succeed, good practices, mistakes, etc.

If you're recruiting young profiles (and more senior ones too), don't hesitate to take 1 minute at the end of each phone call to explain the next step and give some advice. This can be generic if you don't have much time, or it can be tailored to the profile you have in front of you. 

You can also prepare a standard email to send out with the same type of information, which doesn't change with each job opening: your candidates will be reassured and prepared, and you won't have wasted any time. You may also be more relevant for future interviews if your candidate is better prepared thanks to your advice!

[N°5] 25% of candidates give up if the recruitment process takes too long!

You'll miss out on ¼ of the candidates by taking too much time between each stage of the recruitment process, which impacts its overall duration.

Obviously, determining how long a process takes depends on the individual and the position. But on average, candidates think the recruitment process is too long after 3 weeks. What's your Time to Hire today?

It's important to reduce the overall duration of the process, but above all to reduce the time between each stage. This point is even more problematic than the overall duration, as 28% of candidates abandon the process if it takes too long to finish each stage.

You can already save a lot of time at the start of the recruitment process, especially in profile qualification.

Some tools enable you to score profiles to select relevant profiles more quickly, while other digital solutions enable you to avoid pre-selection interviews, which often require long hours of work with little added value. This is particularly true for pre-recorded video interviews, which allow you to substitute a 3-minute video for the entire pre-selection process: contact with the person, discussions to find a common time slot, 30-minute interview, etc. 

[N°4] 28% of candidates give up when they feel there is a lack of interaction with the company

This lack of interaction not only concerns you as a recruiter, but also hiring managers, potential future colleagues and so on. In short, almost a third of candidates need to be close to the company they're applying to, otherwise they risk losing interest and becoming ghosting experts. 

How to avoid ghosting? Quite simply: put in place a few tricks to make your candidates feel that they're getting to know you and your internal stakeholders.

On your side, always keep your candidate informed about recruitment process steps. You haven't received any feedback yet? It doesn't matter, just send them an email to let them know that you haven't forgotten about them, and that you're still waiting to receive fuller feedback.

You could also set up a systematic 15-minute call between your candidate and the relevant hiring manager or a member of his or her team once they've reached a certain stage in the hiring process. This is an opportunity for your candidate to ask questions and talk to one of his or her future colleagues; the long-term relationship begins right there.

If teams don't have time for this, you could also ask one of their members to make a short video on their smartphone to introduce themselves and the team in a few words. You can then prepare a standard email with a link to this video for your candidates who have completed a specific step. All this can be automated using a Candidate Relationship Management (CRM) solution.

In short, the solutions are endless! Brainstorm as a team to find the best one for your organization and your candidates.

[N°3] 28% of candidates give up if they don't get personalized feedback at each step 

There's nothing worse for a candidate than feeling like just another number. That's why, in addition to regular exchanges, he expects your feedback to be personalized.

An automatic response is better than no response at all. But maybe it's possible to find a compromise? Automation doesn't necessarily mean you don't tailor. For example, if you're planning to send out standard rejection emails, you can still personalize them easily with a CRM (Candidate Relationship Management): the person's first name, the position for which they're applying, the people they've been in contact with, and so on.

It's often more complicated to give personalized feedback to candidates at the beginning of the process, as there are more of them. In this case, you could save time on other missions to spend a little more time on this one, which ensures you stay on good terms with your candidate. After all, a candidate rejected today may be tomorrow's recruit.

Save time, especially when sorting applications, thanks to pre-recorded video interviews or matching solutions. 

[N°2] 31% of candidates give up if they don't perceive transparency about the status of their application

Your candidates may feel that they have no control over the recruitment process when they have no idea of their application's status. Have they successfully completed the different phases? On what criteria are they assessed? How many other candidates are still on the shortlist? When will they get feedback on their last interview, and when will they know if they've got the job?

Answer these questions without waiting for them to ask you, and you've already won everything. You can automate all this and not have to write emails for every candidate and send them manually after each step, whether they get it right or not.

Create standard emails that are automatically sent to your candidates as soon as their status changes. 

For instance:

• Hello [X], Thank you for your time during this first HR interview. Now it's our turn! I'll talk to [X], the manager of the [X] team, about your profile and get back to you within 3 to 5 days.
• Hello [X], Only a few days left before your interview with [X]. I hope you're not worried: you've got all the skills for the job! If you haven't seen it yet, don't hesitate to take a look at the company presentation video, where you'll discover several testimonials, including that of [X], who would be one of your colleagues if you joined us!
• Hello [X], Thank you for taking part in the interview with [X] on [date]. We were able to discuss the interview and your profile. I'd like to debrief this exchange with you. Would you have a moment in the next few days? Don't hesitate to make an appointment with me among the slots available here: [link to open agenda].

Use your creativity, and your candidate relationship management (CRM) tool will do the rest!

[N°1] 37% of candidates give up if they feel that the recruitment process does not reflect their individual profile

Each profile has its own characteristics! Nearly 40% of talents would like to see this reflected in their career path as a candidate with your company. Otherwise, they'll move on. 

That's why it's important to think about recruitment process steps as soon as a position opens up. Take time to prepare the job description, to set the selection criteria with the hiring managers, but never forget that you can also adapt the process steps.

For positions for which you receive a large number of applications, it is possible to replace a time-consuming qualification interview with a pre-recorded video interview. This will enable you to qualify your candidates in a more optimized way. For other profiles, such as managers, you may need to opt for a different strategy, with more in-depth interviews at the earliest stages.

In addition to the steps defined before you publish your vacancy, listen to your candidates' profiles and their points of view. If they already have several years of management experience and a recommendation letter concerning this skill, they may be able to pass the managerial skills test.

Feeling understood can also mean personalizing the exchanges you have with your candidate, whether orally or by emails.

Avoiding candidate ghosting: a checklist to keep in mind

Yes, there are many reasons why candidates may or may not abandon the recruitment process by notifying you... or not! Understanding these reasons enables you to adapt your strategy and your actions, so you put all the chances on your side to go as far as possible with the majority of candidates.

Here's what you need to do to avoid ghosting by your candidates!

1. Specify the game rules right from the start (starting with the job offer, which can also discourage applications) and respect them: number and type of steps, time between each, selection criteria, etc.
2. Don't leave any candidate in the dark, and be transparent about the status of their application, the next steps and the reasons why you are refusing their application ( in case of non-recruitment). Even if you don't have any information to give them, whatever the reason, tell them you'll be a little late in getting back to them so they don't worry.
3. Personalize your exchanges with the candidate : use their first name, their surname, show them that you've understood the specifics of their profile and their needs. Don't hesitate to send them content that might be relevant to the position they've applied for or the team they could join: testimonials from employees, a video presenting their future team, a training plan with training opportunities available in their industry, etc. 
4. Reduce your response times at each stage: list everything you need to do to reduce response times across the process.
   Then define which changes will take the least time and which are the easiest to implement. Use this as a starting point for reducing overall time, and prioritize work on the stages where there are the most drop-outs. 

Now you're ready to stop being ghosted! And if you still are, maybe that candidate didn't deserve you; after all, respect goes both ways.