Imagine this, you’ve finished a final interview with an ideal candidate and extend an offer. After a couple attempts to connect with a candidate, you were unable to get a response. So, what happened? You’ve been ghosted.

While it seems unprofessional, candidate ghosting is a real thing and it can cost an organization a lot of lost time in the interview process and money. Collecting feedback from the candidate will often reduce the chances of being ghosted, but what your candidates are not telling you is that they are not sharing honest feedback with internal recruiters for fear that it will prevent them from being advanced in the interview process.

At ISGF, we communicate regularly with our candidates because we’ve had a relationship with them for years and have worked with them throughout multiple stages in their professional career. Listed below are 3 reasons how agency recruiters help limit candidate ghosting and save you time in the interview process.

1. You should get feedback on their impression of how the interview(s) went.
   Interviewing is a nerve-wracking experience! Even when a candidate does a stellar job with an interview, their confidence may not be where we think it is. They’re not going to admit that they believe they didn’t do well to a company’s recruiter because then it will seem like they are admitting failure, and sometimes they just need validation and encouragement. 

   Recruiters debrief with their clients and candidates and have a good pulse on how both sides are feeling. During the debrief with candidates, recruiters provide honest feedback to the candidates. We bring clarity to how the interview went, rather than the story the candidate is telling themselves. Recruiters put their nerves to rest and coach them on how they can put their best foot forward for the next interview which helps ensure they remain engaged in the interview process. Recruiters know that when they bring clarity and truth to how an interview went, they can prevent a candidate from ghosting. 

2. You should know who they are interviewing with.
   A common reason why candidates ghost on a company is because they’ve already received a job offer. Studies have shown that the average length of time top talent stays on the market is 10 days. And if they’re interviewing with another company, wouldn’t it be great to know where your candidate is interviewing and with whom, so you can speed up your interview process for the right candidate? 

   Agency recruiters know if a candidate is interviewing, who it is with, and what stage they are at in the interview process. What this means to you is that recruiters will know if they are getting close to an offer so you can work on speeding up the interview process if you’re highly interested in that candidate. 

3. You should manage their perception of your company’s brand and reputation.
   Have you ever read a really bad review on a restaurant and didn’t show up to the restaurant for a reservation because of it? Whether you have or haven’t, the reality is that it happens, and your company can fall victim to candidate ghosting based on your online reviews and news articles. 

   Candidates are doing research on your company to better understand your culture and are validating what you’re advertising to the employee through online platforms such as Glassdoor. In addition, they are looking for news articles and learning more about your community outreach. If they come across something negative, they’re ghosting without giving you an opportunity to share your company’s perspective. 

   Because recruiters are not staffed directly with your organization, we become company advocates for your brand and organization helping candidates understand there are always two sides to a story. We get them to understand the big picture and that one or a few negative reviews aren’t a representation of the collective.

Whether you use a recruiting agency like ISGF or not, the most important action you can take immediately to limit candidate ghosting is to ensure you’re staying connected and communicating regularly with your candidates throughout the interview process.