As a job seeker, you may have had the experience of being ignored by a company following an interview or even after the application stage. This can be frustrating, but we shouldn’t let getting ghosted by employers affect our attitude towards finding employment.
If a company has ignored you and not contacted you, it may be a sign that they are not interested in hiring you. It may also be that they are still waiting on other candidates to apply or interview before progressing to the next stage in the hiring process.
It’s not uncommon for companies to ignore you before or after an interview. They may be interviewing lots of candidates or have lots of applicants and are having to spend lots of time trying to make a decision. You may not hear back from them for weeks.
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Reaching Out to the Employer or Recruiter
If you were successful in obtaining a job interview but haven’t heard anything after two weeks, it could be time to follow up.
You can follow up with a phone call or email, but make sure you keep it brief and professional. You don’t want to come across as desperate or aggressive.
If you haven’t heard back from an employer after submitting your résumé then unless you really feel you were a leading candidate for the job, it might be best to let it go and move on to the next one.
Some jobs attract many candidates which unfortunately means certain applications aren’t fully appreciated because they either don’t stand out from the crowd or aren’t clear in what they are saying.
Contacting an employer direct at this stage can often result in no response or a generic email stating you were unsuccessful because better matching candidates were found to progress to interview.
If you are dealing with a recruitment agent however you might get more value in following up with them at this stage. A good recruiter will find the time to explain to you why you weren’t put forward and what steps you can do next time to be in with a better chance. In our article Can You Trust Recruitment Agencies, we look further at what makes a good recruitment agency.
Why do I keep getting ignored after job interviews?
It is hard to ever truly know why an employer wouldn’t get back to us after taking the time to interview us. For most people, it would seem like the polite thing to do, but for others, it might be an honest mistake that they forget to get in touch with you with a rejection email. Another reason may be that a candidate they are interested in meeting with has had to postpone their interview for a week or two. But unfortunately for some that might just be how they operate.
It is possible that the interviewers you come up against are not impressed by a number of things. This could be your communication style, your skills, knowledge or the standard of answers you provide.
If getting rejected and ghosted is becoming a common thing for you, consider doing these things:
- Requesting feedback directly from the employer or via the recruitment agent you have dealt with. Find out what they aren’t liking and work on how you can improve that.
- Think about whether your skills and experience closely match up to the jobs you are interviewing for. If not, try applying for alternative types of work.
- If a recruitment agent has organised the job interviews, consider using a different one who can match you better to jobs you are more suited for.
- Are you going into the interviews fully prepared having done your research on the employer? in our article The Ultimate Guide on How to Prepare for a Job Interview, we touch on the importance of researching the business beforehand.
In our other article 13 Top Job Interview Tips, we look closer at how you can perform your best in a job interview situation.
Why do I keep getting ignored after applying for jobs?
There are many reasons why you might be ignored after applying for a job. Common reasons include better-qualified people applying for the same job, your resume didn’t stand out and you don’t have the required amount of experience.
The list of reasons for employers not getting back to us after applying for a job is vast. Instead of dwelling on reasons why we should look to do our best to understand ourselves where we could have done better.
Revisit the versions of your resume that you sent across to recruitment agents or employers and be honest with yourselves over the following points:
- Does the skills listed on the resume match the ones required on the job advert?
- Does the experience listed on the resume match the requested amount on the job advert?
- Is your resume well presented with your skills, experience and qualifications all easily located?
- Are you applying for jobs before the advertised closing date?
- Are you accompanying your resume with a well worded cover letter, signalling your interest in the role?
- Did you apply through a recruitment agency? Are they prepared to provide feedback?
What to do after getting ghosted by an employer?
The applicant should not take the rejection personally. They should take it as an opportunity to improve their skills, resume and job interview technique and continue to apply for different positions.
When we apply for a job with a company, we should always be prepared for the fact that the company might not get back to us.
The most important thing to do is stay positive and keep looking for work. You can do this by using online job sites, networking with people in your industry or social circle, and researching companies that you want to work for.
Should you hold a grudge against the company? We discuss the idea of applying for the same job twice in our article Is It Bad to Apply to the Same Job Twice?