In a recent article we explored the concept of ghosting, where an applicant that would have been a good fit and maybe even has accepted an offer just vanishes without a word. Thanks to a collaboration with recruiters at Addison Group, we have a special three-part series. Each part will include one ghosting tale. If you have your own tales, feel free to share them in the comments! You can check out part one here.
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Our second story comes from Danielle Boykin, an Internal Recruiter at Addison Group. Here is her story:
“For the sake of the story, let’s call the candidate Brad.
“I called Brad for a permanent position that I was working to fill, and after speaking with him briefly about his background, he confirmed he was on the job market and would like to utilize me as a resource. I invited him into the office, we met for a 45-minute interview where we extensively reviewed his experience, his reason for looking for a new role, what was important to him in his next job and several positions that I was working on that could be a good fit for him. We ultimately chose one role in particular that he was interested in pursuing.
“I then submitted his resume to the client, who had several questions about his background before she wanted to invite him in for an interview. This was a new client of mine, so I was still establishing credibility with her and needed to give her some additional attention. I had several follow up calls with Brad to get all of the answers to my client’s questions prior to moving to a face-to-face interview. During that interview process, I confirmed all of the logistics for the interview with Brad, spent some time on the phone doing interview prep and spoke with him again after the interview to debrief and gauge his interest in the role. He shared that he was very excited about the role and was interested in moving forward in the interview process.
“I personally checked Brad’s references, including calling his current employer, who gave him a rave review and admitted they were sorry to lose him. The client decided to make Brad an offer. After some additional back and forth with Brad reviewing the benefits plan, the base salary, bonus structure, and the security requirements for a background and credit check, we had everything in place to move forward as planned. I confirmed a start date with Brad and touched base several times during his final days with his employer to ensure that we were all set for him to start his new role.
“On what was supposed to be Brad’s first day, the client called me to advise he had not arrived. I called his cell several times, sent him an email, and texted him throughout the day, eventually starting to genuinely worry that something had happened to him. The next day, still no word, so I continued to try to find him. Finally, on the third day, I called his former employer and asked for Brad. The front desk asked who was calling, I gave them a different name, and they transferred my call to Brad’s desk, where he answered the phone. I told him who I was and he immediately said, “Oh, can I put you on hold for a quick second?” and then he never picked the phone up again.
“So basically, he stayed with his current employer and pretended like he never accepted a role after an extensive hiring process to get him confirmed to start with a brand new client. Needless to say, this tarnished my relationship with the new client and I never heard from Brad again.”
Join us tomorrow for third and final ghosting story!