How to Prevent Candidate Ghosting
By Marta Gongos Ghosting isn’t just for bad dates anymore. Businesses across North America are left behind in recruitment, with as many as 90% of candidates ditching interviews.
The advertising industry is no exception. At Ad Culture, we’ve seen brilliant creatives and savvy marketers drop out at every stage of the hiring process. As frustrating and overwhelming as it is, the hard truth is that candidate ghosting is rarely about them, but your candidate experience.
If job candidates keep disappearing on you, you’re probably the one driving them away. How can you fix that?
In this article, we’ll answer:
Let’s turn your ghosting situation into a growth opportunity!
What Is Candidate Ghosting?
Candidate ghosting is when potential candidates abruptly cut off communication or disappear during the hiring process without any explanation. It can happen at any stage: skipping interviews, ignoring follow-ups, or even no-showing on their onboarding day.
It hits hardest during interviews when you’ve invested time, resources, and energy into finding the perfect match, only to be met with radio silence.
Candidate ghosting is even more of a concern in fast-moving fields like advertising and marketing, where top talent often juggles multiple offers. Unicorns won’t think twice about dropping out if your process feels slow, impersonal, or unclear.
Image Source: Shutterstock
Top Causes of Candidate Ghosting
Candidate ghosting typically happens for three reasons: a poor recruitment process, weak communication, or a lack of perceived value. Often, it looks something like this:
| Recruitment Process | Communication | Perceived Value |
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Candidate Engagement Strategies to Prevent Ghosting
Learning how to prevent candidate ghosting means keeping job candidates interested. To achieve both, you need to take a hard look at your candidate journey mapping:
- Is your process respectful of their time?
- Are you keeping communication human and consistent?
- Does your offer stand out in a crowded job market?
If any of these raise red flags, it’s time to rethink your hiring practices. Here’s how to improve candidate engagement and prevent candidate ghosting:
Streamline Your Application Process
Long forms and clunky systems are huge turn-offs for job seekers in any industry, but more so in advertising, where speed and creativity rule. If you want to learn how to prevent candidate ghosting, work on making your application process simple, mobile-friendly, and friction-free.
Here are some hiring process best practices to keep candidates engaged from the get-go:
- Ditch the unnecessary fields—only ask for what you need
- Allow applications without requiring account creation
- Test your application flow on smartphones (40% of candidates apply via mobile)
- Send confirmation emails so candidates aren’t left wondering if their resume fell into the void
Bonus tip: Automated communication and AI chatbots work wonders at this stage, but make sure all channels feel personal, human, and on-brand. No one likes to see robotic responses.
Be Proactive With Communication
Communication is the lifeblood of recruitment and plays a key role in learning how to keep job candidates interested from the onboarding application. Around 80% of job-seekers wouldn’t reapply to a company that didn’t send notice about the status of their application.
So, it pays to be proactive and responsive, even to unsuccessful candidates.
A good rule of thumb is to tell job seekers what’s coming before they ask. Here’s how to add it to your candidate journey mapping strategy:
- Ensure all job postings include essential details about the role, expectations, and benefits upfront.
- Provide timely feedback post-interviews or assessments, even if the news isn’t what they hoped for.
- Personalize messages to make the candidate feel valued, and be ready to answer any lingering questions about the role, salary, benefits, or start dates.
- Be accessible through multiple communication channels (i.e., email, phone, or messaging apps), whichever is easiest for the candidate.
- Set clear expectations on steps, timelines, and who they’ll hear from at every hiring process to make candidates less likely to disappear due to uncertainty.
Bonus tip: Before anything else, audit your communication touch points to understand where communication breakdowns happen.
Image Source: Shutterstock
Optimize the Interview Experience
Candidate ghosting peaks during interviews because that’s when candidates actively evaluate you. In advertising, first impressions make or break the deal. A disorganized interview process tells top creatives all they need to know about working at your organization.
Here are quick ways to optimize the interview process and prevent candidate drop-offs:
- Automate interview scheduling using Calendly or Google Calendar to eliminate back-and-forth emails.
- Limit interview rounds to the fewest possible. Two to three should give you enough time to evaluate the perfect candidate without overwhelming them.
- Minimize technical issues by testing your platform beforehand and offering dial-in options if needed.
- Create a positive experience with warm introductions, clear agendas, and a respectful tone. Make it feel like a conversation, not an interrogation.
Bonus tip: Treat candidates like clients. Be on time, prepared, and personable. Show them that your company culture and job offer are worth their time and commitment.
Related: How to Conduct an Interview
Lead With Value
One of the best candidate engagement strategies to eliminate ghosting is to put your best foot forward from the beginning. No one wants to waste time proceeding with an application where they feel undervalued or uncertain about what’s in it for them.
Highlight what makes you worth staying for: your company culture, growth opportunities, competitive benefits, or work-life balance. This way, candidates won’t just stick around—they’ll be excited to join your team!
Related: Why Is Total Compensation Important to Recruiting and Retaining Employees?
Strengthen Your Employer Brand
Around 75% of candidates check out your employer brand before considering applying. If your websites and social media don’t show your company culture (or worse, show negative vibes), it can deter top talent from applying or make them want to drop off midway.
To prevent candidate ghosting, build and nurture a positive, human-centered employer brand. Position your brand as an attractive place to work by highlighting your:
- Values
- Employee experiences
- Growth opportunities
- Positive work environment
- Recognition and reward systems
- And more.
Bonus tip: Employee testimonials speak louder than any marketing message. Encourage employees to write reviews on Glassdoor or share their experiences on social media to give candidates an honest sense of your company culture.
Learn more: How to Build an Employer Brand
Turn Ghosts Into Hires with Ad Culture
Candidate ghosting is a “you” problem with a “you” solution—and it starts with a better candidate experience. Ad Culture specializes in helping brands attract top talent in the advertising and marketing sector and keep them engaged throughout the hiring process.
We ensure your candidates never vanish into thin air through:
- Strict vetting to ensure the right fit.
- Clear, consistent communication at every stage
- Streamlined application processes
- Personalized candidate experience
Let us help you find and keep the ideal candidate for your hiring needs. Contact us today to start building a recruitment process that’s as strong as your brand!
