Beware of ghost posts!
Just when you think it couldn’t get harder for those looking for a job and the companies looking for talent, you read articles like this one — Job Listings Abound, but Many Are Fake — in The Wall Street Journal. Here’s a short summary: A lot of employers have postings out there that they’re not actively working to fill, aka “ghost jobs.”
If recruiters and talent acquisition professionals are going to continue to be frustrated and complain when candidates ghost them for interviews, follow-ups and offers, they must first look in the mirror and make sure they are living up to some basic courtesies:
Only post jobs when there is active hiring manager interest in filling the role quickly. Use the intake meeting to find out how motivated they are to fill the position. Consider waiting to post the position until after vacations and other obligations are complete, and calendars are open for interviews.
Remove roles that aren’t progressing from your websites. Work with hiring managers to determine why – perhaps needs have changed, priorities shifted or they don’t have time to interview right now. Re-post the job once everyone is aligned to make sure it gets filled.
Update candidates on their status throughout the process and let them know if something changes.
Ensure that what hiring managers are looking for is realistic. Then, make the postings as transparent and clear on the requirements as possible.
It’s simple. If we want candidates to be transparent in their communications and respond when we need them to, we need to follow the same practices in our posting, screening and interviewing. Start by doing one thing today. Look at the age of your postings and when the last action was taken. Remove those that continue to draw attention from candidates, but, for whatever reason, you’re not moving forward on at the moment.