Conversation Starter: Ghosting creeps higher

Nothing is more frustrating for job seekers than interviewing for a role, meeting the team, even receiving positive feedback, and then getting radio silence from the company. Being “ghosted” by employers is a common and rising complaint among job seekers, according to the latest data from Glassdoor. The share of interview reviews on Glassdoor that mention ghosting have increased 11% year-over-year, as of August 2024.

It’s no surprise that 87% of interview reviews that mention ghosting report a negative interview experience (compared to a miniscule 2% that report a positive experience). As a baseline, only 18% of interview reviews report a negative experience, so reviews that mention ghosting are almost 5 times more likely (4.7x) to report a negative interview experience. And surveys agree: 87% of professionals in a Glassdoor poll agree that ghosting in the interview process is unacceptable.

Unfortunately, even interviews that come from interviewer outreach or employee referrals are not immune to ghosting. In 2024, ghosting was mentioned in 6.5% of reviews for interviews obtained through recruiter outreach, actually higher than the 4.9% of reviews for interviews obtained through an online job application. This may be because job seekers who receive an interview through recruiter outreach are even more upset when they get ghosted.

Conversely, reviews for interviews obtained through employee referrals are less likely to mention ghosting (3% of reviews), but this figure has increased 30% from 2023, as the soft job market has reduced the attention that even high-quality employee referrals can expect.

Below are the industries where ghosting is most likely to be mentioned in interview reviews. Crucially, the industries where candidates mention ghosting the most aren’t necessarily industries where candidates experience ghosting the most, but may instead be ones where job seekers are most upset about it. For example, a job seeker applying to a food service role may be unsurprised to be ghosted, while a candidate for a media & communication role may expect better from their employer.

Table: Share of interview reviews on Glassdoor that mention "ghosting" by industry

For employees and job seekers, unfortunately, as the job market softens, ghosting is likely to keep growing more common as a larger pool of job seekers compete for a smaller pool of jobs. But for employers, it’s important to maintain a positive candidate experience even in times when there’s a surplus of qualified candidates. Job seekers have a long memory and a poor candidate experience can leave a long-lasting stain on an employer’s reputation.

Methodology

This analysis examines over a million interview reviews left on Glassdoor by U.S. job seekers for mentions of ghosting or similar phrases (e.g., ghosted, ghost me, ghosts you). Interview reviews submitted between January 1, 2016 and August 31, 2024 are analyzed and grouped together by when the review was submitted. The data for ghosting mentions by interview source, ghosting mentions by industry and negative interview experience ratings for reviews that mention ghosting is the year-to-date average from January 1, 2024 through August 31, 2024.

Note: Mentions of ghosting are not just influenced by the prevalence of ghosting. For example, reviewers who do not expect to be ghosted may be more upset and thus more likely to mention it. Additionally, as language evolves and terms like “ghosting” enter common parlance, we should expect the prevalence of the term to increase.

The poll in this analysis ran from September 9th, 2024 through September 12th, 2024 and was answered by over 2,000 professionals on Glassdoor. Respondents could answer "Yes" or "No" to the question: Is ghosting in the interview process acceptable?