This isn’t directed at you personally, but I’m really frustrated with how HR teams use one-off anecdotes to justify ghosting candidates.
Yes, there will always be some people who react poorly to rejection and a few who may pose security concerns. But for every candidate who gets upset, there are probably a hundred more who would simply appreciate closure.
I’m not expecting firms to respond individually to the 5,000 applications that come in online for an internship or new grad role - most of which likely aren’t qualified. I’m talking about the 100 or so candidates who were sent a HireVue or online assessment. And how about those candidates that progressed even further and had a live interview with a real person, only to never to hear back from the company again? These are young people who invested real time and energy to prepare and participate.
Acknowledging them isn’t a heavy lift. It’s basic respect - and right now, firms are setting a poor example for young professionals navigating their first job search.
Yep. It’s total limbo especially when you’ve interviewed to just wait… and wait… and wait.. D19 went through this countless times and it’s SO discouraging. How do you know when to stop hoping they’ll contact you back?
I will say, where I’m from, companies do not ghost applicants. At worst it will be “if you don’t hear back from us within x weeks, please consider your application unsuccessful“ - but they won’t leave you hanging for ever . (Also thanking interviews for an interview was not the done thing there.)
Like I said- my company is acknowledging virtually everyone- even the 5,000 application surges. I’m not giving you one-off complaints- this is a constant, grinding, process which is getting worse as the economy worsens.
I’m not justifying the ghosting- I’m trying to give context. Take it or leave it.
The “resume with no email address” thing is sort of bizarre. But is happening with greater frequency. Not sure why.
Perhaps people are sending the resume through a portal and expect that the organization will contact them back through the portal, thus that the portal would send them a notification/email? But yes, I agree that it’s an odd oversight.
It is discouraging. My youngest held off starting at his regular summer job waiting on a reputable company concerning an internship. Three interviews and then crickets. He lost two weeks at his summer job because of it.
I’ve recently learned that “job crawling” is not only a real thing but has become a kind of business. Some smart job seekers write their own scraper code to get alerted of new postings so they can submit applications asap to increase visibility. Then there came paid services for those who can’t write their own code. According to the several young people who told me about this, it works to the extend that they are receiving more online assessment invitations. When my daughter applied for internships and jobs in 2021 and 2022 it was not like this.
Agree. This will make you laugh. I had to interview for my own old position of 30 years (maternity leave for my replacement). I was NOT hired (I did end up doing the job when the person they did hire left after a couple of weeks). My “rejection letter” was a message left on my answering machine…and it was a doozie. I was glad I kept it, because at the end of the work time there, I actually played it for the superintendent who was appalled.
To me the thank you letter is not even so much about being thanked though saying thanks for taking the time to interview me is a nice touch. But more importantly it’s an opportunity for the candidate to say even after spending an hour talking about the job I’m still interested and here are some additional reasons based on the interview why I think this job is a perfect fit for me. Otherwise how do I know you’re still interested after the interview and if I should waste more time on you? Interviews go both ways and I’d much rather hire someone who is enthusiastic enough to follow up after the interview.
I am very old-school on “Thank You’s” and have taught my kids the same: handwritten notes whenever they have a physical address, and email are a distant second but better than nothing.
However, my S23 who is still looking for a summer internship in ME/BME says that it’s actually quite difficult to follow up with his interviewers. He says it’s generally a panel and/or series of interviewers on zoom, but he doesn’t even know exactly who they are since he generally doesn’t ever see their names in writing. The only contact info he has is generally the HR person arranging it all.
I’ve suggested that he ask HR for all the interviewers’ full names and emails so that can follow up with them individually, but he says “Mom, that’d be weird!” He says it seems like they don’t WANT him to contact anyone but the HR folks. (I don’t think so?…)
So, any thoughts or suggestions from those of you on the hiring end? He’d love to send more ‘thank you’s’ if only companies would make it easier. Thanks!
I wouldn’t be surprised. They probably don’t want applicants bombarding interviewers with emails begging for the job, etc - how can they be sure it will only be one thank-you email? When i was interviewing for my current job, I wasn’t given any direct contact details of my interviewers until i was made an offer.
I, too, like to send a note (email today) but the reality is that same day, at many places, whether they’re moving on or not is already known. When I’m involved, I’ve either been given a survey/evaluation or we had a group discussion.
It’s a nice gesture but likely not impacting getting the job.
It’s also important that applicants don’t ghost people either.
My son went through the application process in late 2018, and ghosting was common even then. It was tough not getting a simple email letting him know he was out of the running. That little bit of closure makes a big difference.
At the end of the process, he actually had two offers come in around the same time. He took the time to email the contact at the company he decided not to go with, thanking him for the opportunity. He replied with a lovely message wishing him luck and even encouraged him to reach out if things didn’t work out with the other job.
It was a nice ending in a process that often felt impersonal. A little human touch goes a long way.
I double checked with my H and D, both said to write thank you notes if you’ve interviewed. If you don’t know the whole team, send it to the HR contact.
It’s not weird. In this job market anything that makes an applicant stand out in a positive way is good. Going to the length of finding out interviewers’ names and sending a thank you note might be just that.
But watch out with the hand written notes, I just hired a 22-year old right out of undergrad. He’s great, but his handwriting looks like old Nordic runes My own kids never learned cursive in school and their handwriting is equally cryptic, so I advise them to send thank you emails.
I agree that thank notes are important and that’s what we told our kids. They reached out to HR if they didn’t have interviewer full names and weren’t able to find them on the company’s website or by other means. I also think email no later than the next day is the way to go, not snail mail. Two negatives about US mail: by the time it’s delivered, it will likely be too late to make a difference - the decision will already have been made. Handwritten notes also seem quaint and old fashioned - great for thanking Grandma Joan for the birthday gift but not the impression you want to leave for a fast paced business environment.
Many companies don’t like to share employee names or email addresses with candidates. In that case, sending the thank-you note to HR and asking them to forward it is totally fine. That works just as well, IMO.
Hmm. I haven’t seen physical mail at my firm in a long time. It isn’t part of how we operate anymore. We don’t have interoffice mail, and I haven’t received any outside mail in years.
If I did receive something in the mail from a candidate (whether handwritten or not), I wouldn’t see it as “thoughtful” - I’d see it as “weird” or out of touch. It would honestly make me question whether they understand how modern companies operate. I think it would be a negative for me.
Nothing anyone does via thank you notes etc makes any material difference. It’s definitely the right thing to do and often times Linkedin messages could be a useful option if the interviewer email is not made available. However it’s neither expected or valued in the context of modern hiring practices - maybe there are a few industries where this could make a difference but at the new grad level i fail to see the need.
Yup, my son didn’t get 1 interviewer’s contact info,
and was not connected with the interviewer in LinkedIn,
so he used the 200 characters in the LinkedIn CONNECT message option to thank him.
The interviewer did connect and wished son luck.
My own kids never learned cursive in school and their handwriting is equally cryptic, so I advise them to send thank you emails.