“Five interviews, no response”: Job seeker’s Reddit post about being ghosted hits too close to home
A frustrated job seeker took to Reddit to express his feelings of being ghosted by a company after going through five rounds of interviews. According to the message, the hiring manager informed the candidate that an offer would be sent “soon” – but was met with radio silence for the next three weeks.
Despite multiple follow-ups, the only response received was an automated message stating that the company was “reviewing applicants.”
“I went through five rounds of interviews with this company. The hiring manager literally said on the last call, ‘We’ll send you an offer soon.’ Then nothing. No email, no update, just silence. That was three weeks ago. I followed up twice and the only response I got was an automated ‘We’re reviewing candidates’ message. I’m so tired of how normal this has become,” a writes the user. “The amount of emotional energy it takes to prepare, stay hopeful, and then get ghosted is brutal,” the post read.
The post resonated with hundreds of users who shared similar experiences, calling out the growing trend of “ghost interviews” in the corporate world – where candidates are left without any closure after multiple rounds of interviews.
Many commenters argued that a simple “we went in another direction” would be a simple courtesy.
As one user said: “Five??? Disagree. I was blown away after three hours to be told that ‘the position was no longer offered and would be replaced with a new role once the needs of the business were determined’. The waste of candidates’ time is outrageous.”
“Ugh, this is the worst. This happened to me once after months of interviews and it kinda destroyed my motivation. It’s crazy how normal it’s become, like we’re not even people anymore, just ‘candidates,'” one user commented.
A third user wrote: “Any type of compliment or saying an offer is on the way is inappropriate and a warning sign. An offer only exists when it’s made. Never believe compliments, it’s the kiss of death. Best way to go is to move forward. Keep looking, it sucks. It’s an organization’s market and is more like a gambling market in my opinion.”
“Call the recruiter directly! I did the same thing when I was in a similar situation. I didn’t get selected, but honestly it improved my mental health,” a fourth user commented.
