Being ghosted is never pleasant. But when a hiring manager breaks contact with you after you’ve invested time and energy into your job application, it can really hurt your confidence as a job seeker.
Unfortunately, ghosting has become increasingly common on the job market.
In our latest Recruitment Trends Survey, 56% of UK hiring managers revealed they weren’t opposed to ghosting unsuccessful candidates.
Furthermore, 33% of total respondents said that they would be likely to ghost unsuccessful candidates in the future.
Rejection emails might seem unnecessary to some hiring managers, but cutting off communication without an explanation is disrespectful to job applicants.
A study of UK job seekers found that 86% of respondents who had been ghosted were left down or depressed in some way. A further 17% said the experience left them feeling severely depressed.
According to Geoff Scott, Senior Hiring Manager at CV Genius, ghosting reflects a serious lack of professionalism.
‘No hiring manager feels joy rejecting a candidate, especially when that candidate clearly put in effort or had a strong skill-set but just didn’t quite meet the needs of the role. But it’s still important to be respectful and let them know when they’re not being considered for the role anymore.’
Why do applicants get ghosted?
Various factors are contributing to the rising problem of ghosting in the job market, including changes in communication styles, new technologies, and organisational problems within the hiring company.
Communication standards are slipping
The way hiring managers communicate with candidates is changing, and not for the better. Our survey found that younger hiring managers are 61% more likely to ghost job applicants compared to their older colleagues.
Over a third (36%) of Gen Z and Millennial hiring managers said they were likely to ghost unsuccessful candidates during the hiring process.
Meanwhile, only 23% of older hiring managers (Gen X and Boomers) expressed a tendency for this behaviour.
‘The rise of instant messaging, video call, and other collaborative tools has made communication more immediate and informal,’ Scott explains. ‘However, it’s also given hiring managers more control over how and when they communicate.’
Having grown up with social media and instant messaging, Gen Z and younger Millennials are more comfortable communicating on their own terms — and less likely to follow traditional communication etiquette.
Younger hiring managers are also quicker to disengage with applicants who don’t meet their expectations.
Research into CV and cover letter trends has revealed that Gen Z hiring managers are 67% more likely than other generations to discard a job application when they encounter a red flag.
The switch to remote work and flexible work has accelerated this trend and its impact on the hiring process.
Minimal face-to-face communication often dehumanises applicants, making it easy for hiring managers to break communication with anyone who isn’t a good fit for the job.
Some CVs don’t make it to the hiring manager
Another factor contributing to the rise of professional ghosting is the software employers use to parse and screen CVs before reading the documents themselves.
According to the findings of our Recruitment Trends Survey, 71% of hiring managers rely on Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) to screen applications before conducting a human review.
The roles that these systems play vary from standardising CV formatting to scanning the documents for specific qualifications, skills, and areas of experience.
However, CVs with unconventional fonts, layouts, or vocabulary are sometimes automatically filtered out, meaning that they never reach the hiring manager.
While some employers understand these limitations and manually read through every CV, others just don’t have the time.
‘When you have 200 CVs on your desk and a looming deadline, it isn’t feasible to manually comb through every application line by line,’ says Scott.
Pressure on hiring managers to quickly review applications has been increasing over the past couple of years. The total number of job vacancies in the UK has fallen from a high of 1,299,000 vacancies in mid 2022 to 884,000 vacancies in mid 2024.
The position is never filled
Due to budget restrictions and changes in business priorities, job roles may be redefined or placed on hold, leaving both hiring manager and applicant in a state of limbo.
‘As applicants we often assume that the hiring manager is the only person standing in between us and the job, but that’s rarely the case. Senior management, department heads, and accounting all have the power to slow down or freeze the hiring process,’ says Scott.
When two parties disagree, hiring managers may find themselves unable to move applications forward and unsure of whether to inform the applicants.
What should you do if the hiring manager goes silent?
Unfortunately, many of us will be ghosted at some point in our careers. Preparing for that possibility is one of the best ways to stay motivated and proactive in your job search.
Here are five things you can do to keep the communication going — or at least prevent yourself from becoming disheartened if the hiring manager disappears all together.
1. Don’t be afraid to follow up
Reach out with a polite, concise follow-up email or phone call to show your continued interest and remind them to update you on your application.
Wait for a reasonable period — typically 1–2 weeks after applying or interviewing — before sending a polite, concise follow-up email. Here’s an example:
Dear Mr Windicott,
It was a pleasure meeting you to discuss the Front-End Developer role at UnLimited.
I’m just writing to get an update on the status of my application — let me know if I can provide any additional information to support my application.
I can be reached by phone on 07123 456 789 or by email at my.name@gmail.com.
I look forward to hearing back from you.
Best wishes,
John Doe
Following up on a job application is perfectly responsible, especially if you’ve given the employer enough time to get back to you already. If you’re worried about seeming pushy, you can mention your plan to follow up during the interview or in your cover letter.
2. Ask for feedback on your application
Don’t be shy. Our Recruitment Trends Survey found that if you ask for feedback on a job application 61% of hiring managers will provide it.
Requesting feedback is an excellent way to continue communication if the hiring manager doesn’t respond to your follow-up. It also encourages rejection-adverse hiring managers to let you know if they’re not considering you for the role anymore.
You’ll also learn from your mistakes. From the job seeker’s perspective, it’s often impossible to tell if your application was rejected because of the job requirements, a mistake on your application, or a more experienced candidate beat you to the offer.
Regardless of the reason why, getting feedback will help you improve future applications and build confidence in yourself as a job seeker.
After waiting for a response, send a polite message asking for constructive feedback. This can give you clarity on how to strengthen your approach when you apply to other opportunities.
3. Keep your cool
Remain respectful even if the hiring manager doesn’t pay you the same courtesy. You want to keep communication open and leave a good impression. A more proactive team member might reach out later or for a future opportunity.
Keep any communication professional and concise, avoiding frustration or emotional responses. Try to adapt to the organisation’s preferred communication style, whether it’s email, LinkedIn, or another method. Your ability to navigate a frustrating situation will be helpful if the employer takes another look at your profile in the future.
4. Keep your options open
One of the most frustrating aspects of being ghosted is the feeling that you’ve invested significant time into an opportunity only to hit a dead end.
And that can really hurt if you’ve been relying on a single opportunity.
Remember, no opportunity is guaranteed until a contract is signed. So you should continue applying until the terms of your employment are laid out in print.
Scott recommends maintaining a structured schedule to remain proactive.
‘Treat your job search like a job in itself. Set weekly or monthly goals for how many applications you submit and don’t limit yourself to one job title — consider similar opportunities that use the same skills or industry experience.’
5. Practise self-care
Job applications can be physically and mentally taxing at the best of times, but the emotional toll is especially great when you’re faced with ghosting or rejection.
Maintaining a routine can help you remain proactive while ensuring that you have time to recharge at regular intervals.
Set clear boundaries for your job search, limiting the time you spend each day applying for jobs to avoid burnout (e.g., 9 AM to 5 PM).
Outside of your job search hours, do your best to relax and recharge. Remember that while your career is an important part of you, it’s still only a part of you — and not the whole.
Exercise, spend time with friends, and make sure you’re giving yourself enough off-time. It’s important to stay proactive in your job search but to do so, you’ll need to move at a pace you can keep up.
Methodology
The UK Recruiting Survey mentioned was conducted by CV Genius using Pollfish. The study aimed to understand hiring manager and recruiter perspectives on CVs and cover letters. The survey was sent out on 22 April 2024 and had a sample size of 625 participants. The sample included in-house employers in a wide variety of industries as well as professional recruiters.
To qualify, respondents had to have been actively involved in hiring people in the UK or Ireland in the past year. The survey ensured a balanced representation across various demographics, including gender and age groups, to accurately reflect the diversity of the British and Irish workforces.
To minimise bias, Pollfish uses Random Device Engagement (RDE) to ensure a fair and organic selection process. For further details on Pollfish’s methodology, please visit their website or reach out to ethan@cvgenius.com.
Sources
- CV Genius, ‘CV & Cover Letter Trends in 2024 (New Data)’
- CV Genius, ‘‘Recruitment Trends in 2024 (New Survey Data)’
- Office for National Statistics (ONS), ‘Vacancies and Jobs in the UK Statistical Bulletins’
- Yahoo Finance, ‘How Recruitment ‘Ghosting’ is Impacting Mental Health of Job Applicants’
About CV Genius
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