Author: Scott Schnierer

The U.S. job market is still strong with a national unemployment rate of 3.8%. While that number is a popular statistic running across all media channels, it may not feel that way to every job seeker. There are several industries such as hospitality, manufacturing, and healthcare that are hiring. In some other areas such as finance and accounting, technology, and marketing, there are smaller pockets of hiring.

Regardless of the hiring trends, in today’s environment, a job seeker can utilize several channels to find employment. There are a variety of job boards, job search engines, social media platforms, and employment agencies promoting open job opportunities to a wide mass of job seekers who they never met or engaged with before. How should a job seeking candidate engage with a potential employer? While there are many answers and several steps, one common tactic that many candidates poorly pursue where employers are getting way too familiar with is Candidate Ghosting.

Ghosting is the process where the job seeker or candidate miraculously disappears during the employment application process with the employer. The ghosting usually takes place after the point of candidate engagement where the candidate has been either granted an official client job interview or even in some cases, an official job offer and start date. For their own reason, the candidate decides not to respond to the employment agency. They would rather abandon the process than simply give a reason for cancelling a job interview or employment offer. Running away from a professional career opportunity is their preferred option.

An employment agency is a licensed direct employer that employs a job seeker on assignment as an official W-2 employee on record. Some employment agencies employ job seekers in multiple states or all 50 states. Since employment agencies service multiple clients in a variety of disciplines such as finance, information technology, or healthcare, staffing firms deal with a variety of job seekers with diverse backgrounds.

No matter what job order requisition that an employment agency handles, there are candidates who still ghost or disappear during the employment application process. Why does this happen? There are many reasons. Many of which that are difficult to answer. Some candidates may feel that employment agencies are not real employment partners due to the transactional nature of the business. Some candidates may feel that the job may not be a real open job, but a bait and switch tactic to bring in the job seeker’s resume. Some candidates may also feel that the staffing firms is not really listening to the career objectives of the job seeker.

Whatever the case may be, an employment agency should build and develop trust with its candidates. The interview should be a fact finding mission to discover what really motivates the job seeker to take their next job opportunity. Follow up skills are important as the job seeker and employment agency should be able to contact each other within 24 hours via email or phone. An employment agency needs to be honest and available.

Now even when an employment agency communicates with a candidate with the highest level of professionalism in its interviewing and engagement, candidates still ghost staffing firms. Below is a list of some of the negative effects on the job seeker as a result of Ghosting:

Candidates who ghost will:

1. Lose out on the opportunity to work again on any future job order with an employment agency. Most staffing firms have centralized applicant tracking systems. They share the same data and recruiters can mark a candidate as a “Do Not Use.”
2. Obtain an overall bad reputation. Recruiters change jobs too and work at other employment agencies. They may remember a candidate name with a reputation of ghosting. The outcome is getting added to the blacklist of a second or third or fourth employment agency.
3. Damage relationships with the clients of the staffing firm. If a candidate was submitted to a client of an employment agency, that client has your name. When the candidate ghosts the agency, they also ghost the client. The bad reputation spider web has grown.
4. Negatively impact their own employee brand for the long term. Life has its ups and downs, and a candidate never knows when to expect the unexpected. Keeping a clean job seeker or employee brand is important. When life changes and one really needs the assistance of an employment agency, help may not be available.

Unfortunately, ghosting will never cease to exist, but employment agencies can implement some candidate recruitment process controls to mitigate those outcomes. An employment agency should add some quality control check points during its recruitment. One idea is to allow the candidate some time to think about whether they really want to interview or apply for a position. Request that they call you back at a specific time on a specific date with their decision. Another idea is to schedule an interview prep call via video (Zoom or MS Teams) where the employment agency and candidate meet in person to review the interview with the client. If the candidate does not appear for the video prep call, it’s time to cancel the interview with the client.

USA Today recently posted an article called “Is it bad to ghost low priority potential employers?” where the CEO of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), the world’s largest HR professional society. Very timely and worth the read.

Happy Thanksgiving and Holidays! This is the time of year where friends and family get together to celebrate and spend quality time together. People should go out and enjoy good food, music, entertainment and more. It’s perfectly fine to share those moments on social media. Just remember that holiday fun doesn’t mean holiday embarrassment. Don’t share too much on social media this time of year. You may be looking for a job or working for a company that monitor’s social media profiles.

Social Media is a mainstay in the daily behavior of many job seekers.  Most online visitors spend hours scrolling through photos of other people’s lives on social media. Why not put this time into enhancing one’s own social media profile as a job seeker in New Jersey?  Networking online with a New Jersey based employment agency is a good idea to develop your online resume or social media brand.  With more than 75% of the global population active on social media, many employers are also using these social media sites to find new hires for temp jobs. To get started, below are three tips for a job seeker to maintain a social media profile:

1. Build your personal brand

As a job seeker in New Jersey, post informative content about yourself that relates to your hobbies, interests, and strengths. For example, a job seeker could use a social media site like “TikTok” to share constructive videos that displays performances or work products in order to appeal to employment agencies.   Additionally, a job seeker should only offer constructive comments that will impress employers when they research your name. Social media should be a platform meant to uplift one’s reputation by displaying the great things they have done or stated within their feed. To further explain, on X (formerly known as Twitter), job seekers can post public comments that contribute to work related conversations. This action may suggest to employers that one has a passion for their career and prefers to engage in meaningful discussion via social media. 

During this holiday season, spend less time sharing photos guzzling egg nog with cousin Louie or Lorraine and more time nurturing your online brand that compliments your resume. While it’s perfectly normal to post photos of celebrations, refrain from posting photos that highlight behavior that is inconsistent with a professional profile.

2. Utilize all key social media tools

Social media sites have several hidden tools that can promote a job seeker’s social media profile.  Employers prefer that job seekers care about the image they portray online.  It’s a good idea to create an educational bio about yourself.  Instagram permits its users to include a significant quote or fact about themselves so employment agencies can read noteworthy information when finding someone’s profile. Another feature offered through this platform is the ability to “tag” an account. It’s beneficial to tag keywords such as New Jersey employment agencies in posts in order to stand out as a potential candidate.  One can include photos relating to job interests and articles relating to one’s past experiences. Furthermore, a job seeker should also tag other people that they want to be noticed by so employers can find their social media resume in a timely fashion.

3. Make social connections

One commonality between all social media sites is the ability to form connections. It’s a good idea to follow those employment agencies that are of interest.  One can follow an employment agency on Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram and Twitter.  Following a New Jersey employment agency will allow one to keep up with company news as well as display an interest in the business of the employment agency.  Networking on platforms like LinkedIn gives job seekers the ability to connect with employers, colleagues, and friends that may help them in their career path. Moreover, establishing these connections allows employers to view one’s social media resume.  It’s a useful tool for sharing skills and work experience with other employment agencies in order to find additional job opportunities. It’s also recommended that one network with multiple employment agencies via their social media sites. Not only does one lift its social media profile among a large group of employers, but a job seeker will also obtain access to job postings, thought leadership, and increased visibility among hiring managers.

Overall, job seekers in New Jersey should utilize social media to their advantage when building an online reputation.  It’s important to maintain an online profiles with these three strategies in order to find a job with a New Jersey based employment agency effectively. 

Happy Halloween to all UNIFORCE employees and job seeking candidates.

Speaking of dressing up, it’s always a good idea to dress for success for an in person or video interview. Remember to wear business attire for both types of interviews. Candidates should do their best not present themselves as a “monster”. The outcome may make the hiring manager treat a candidate like a “ghost”.

More tips on best interviewing practices.