Ghostbusting
“I feel like I finally had a win. I received a rejection letter. At least someone read my resume and responded.”
This was a conversation we had with a job seeker recently. In these times of AI generated scams—fake job listings and job offers—and ghosting, it’s no wonder job seekers are asking themselves: Am I still being considered for the job? Is the job even real?
In his Pink Report, Dan Pink comments that ghosting is everywhere. Companies—or their AI agents—are disappearing on job candidates, including after multiple interviews. Now applicants can name names. Did They Ghost You? allows candidates to anonymously report companies that never got back to them. Topping the ghosting leaderboard: Apple, Microsoft, and Condé Nast.
Bringing Closure. Letting job seekers and applicants know where they stand with a hiring organization is critical to the candidate experience, but also to the organization’s reputation.
Enter our good colleague, talent acquisition guru, and now ghostbuster, Gerry Crispin, whom we’ve known for countless numbers of years. He is leading the development of a proposed Baseline Standard for Applicant Closure. Simply stated, it seeks to bring an end to candidate ghosting and oblige organizations to tell applicants when they are no longer being considered.
The proposed standard would have every employer’s system of record be capable of recording timestamps for
Initial submission
Automated screening, assessment, or AI-based evaluation
Human review
Final disposition decision
Closure communication
With today’s technology, these requirements are doable. Most applicant tracking systems provide tools for sending individual or bulk messages. What would not be allowed is configuring the systems to keep an applicant’s status as unresolved indefinitely.
The architects of the system also want to influence recruitment technology vendors and recruiters and talent acquisition leaders by encouraging accountability for themselves and their peers.
According to Gerry, “We're trying to draw a line in the sand. Above this line there's lots of opportunity for best practices. Below, it's unacceptable and you should be called out."
What counts as closure? A clear, documented communication telling someone that they are no longer under consideration for a specific position that is issued promptly after a disposition decision has been made. Ghosting would be prohibited. The tools and technology can make this happen.
Kudos to Gerry who has spent his notable career advancing the recruiting profession. He was a founder of the CareerXRoads talent acquisition community, participant in developing SHRM human-resource standards, and instrumental in creating the CandE Benchmark Research and Award Program, which measures the candidate experience and rewards employers who provide exemplary experiences. HR and recruiting professionals have great appreciation for his work. We’re proud to call you a friend, Gerry.