When Did the Job Market Get So Rude?

"Recently, I'm ashamed to admit, I received an email that initially made me feel warm, human, even grateful: a rejection for a job I'd applied to. But my thankful feelings quickly curdled into self-loathing-the nausea one gets when looking back over pathetic, paragraphs-long texts to an ex, whose monosyllabic responses suggested they'd clearly moved on. The rejection was a form letter, not even a late-round, personalized "we gave you serious consideration but ultimately decided to hire a VP's nephew" message."

"Ghosting has become more rampant not just by employers but also by job seekers. In 2024, candidates reviewing employers on the website Glassdoor used the term ghosting nearly three times as much as they did in 2020. And a 2023 Indeed survey of job seekers found that 62 percent of respondents planned to ghost a prospective employer in a future job search, compared with only 37 percent in 2019."

"The disappearing act is not just in the early rounds, either. Employers routinely ask applicants to do multiple interviews and time-consuming test work, and are never heard from again; a survey this year from Greenhouse, a recruiting-software company, found that nearly two out of every three candidates in the United States had been ghosted after an interview. Meanwhile, some applicants who make it through the onerous hiring process and accept jobs never show up for their first day."

A generic rejection email provoked gratitude that quickly shifted to self-loathing when the message proved impersonal. Ghosting has spread throughout hiring, practiced by both employers and job seekers. Glassdoor usage of the term ghosting rose markedly by 2024, and a 2023 Indeed survey found 62 percent of job seekers planned to ghost employers. Employers frequently request multiple interviews and unpaid test work and then cease communication; Greenhouse reports nearly two-thirds of U.S. candidates have been ghosted after interviews. Some candidates accept offers and still fail to appear for their first day, deepening mistrust on both sides.

Read at The Atlantic