Ghosting: How to be haunted by a bad reputation

Ghosting: How to be haunted by a bad reputation

Avatar photo Jeff Gipson | July 15, 2022

Ghosting is a topic we’ve touched on before, but I think it’s time we revisit the issue for the sake of clients and candidates alike. 

As recruiters, we see the practice at every stage of the hiring process, from employers in need of talent vital to the success of their business to candidates who have been taking the steps toward positive career development. Both parties stand to take a step forward, making benefits in productivity, gaining invaluable perspectives, gaining precious high-level experience and forming relationships that elevate the professional ecosystems and one’s personal life alike.

So, why ghost? Why burn the proverbial bridge? The answer to this rhetorical question is that there is none—there is no good reason to ghost. It is immature. It is unprofessional. It is a gigantic waste of potential resources in your particular professional circles.

Lose a reputation. Gain another.

As an employer and a business, reputation can make you or it can make you radioactive, unclean, untouchable … persona non grata. Even before the connectivity of the digital age professionals in any space communicated and kept in contact as s consequence of doing business. Ghosting candidates send and spread the message that, as an organization, you don’t respect talent enough to formally end the process, airing on the side of plain laziness.

In any industry, without any of the tech, the emails, the zoom meetings or the good old-fashioned phone call—take all the mediums away and the conversation is still the most important tool at our disposal. Ensuring solid and reliable lines of communication, following protocol and genuinely being courteous to every professional you touch builds the reputation you want in hiring markets where sought-after talent can be rare.

Relationships > Instant Gratification

As a candidate, you need to understand that opportunity is not a singular event in your career path. The recruitment process is about making good matches and at times it takes a fair amount of research and reflection, as well as engaging multiple businesses, to find the place that’s right for you. The more time a recruiter spends with you, observing how you approach your career and their client partners, the more proficient they will become at placing you within a position that benefits all parties. Ghosting eliminates many of these opportunities for discovery. 

Why deprive yourself of a capable and resourceful professional advocate just because “you weren’t feeling it?” Take the time, make the call, write the text and let them know you’re not interested. It allows recruiters to deliver efficient service to you and the businesses they represent.


At The James Allen Companies, we are interested in getting to know clients and candidates. Cutting that process short and ghosting us serves no one’s best interests. Work with us on your terms—just make us aware of what those terms might be.

About the Author

Avatar photo
Jeff Gipson
Jeff Gipson Sr. is a veteran of the staffing industry, with more than 30 years of experience. He got his start working for an international staffing organization where he focused on information technology placements across the country. In July 1992, Jeff continued his staffing career with a St. Louis based information technology staffing company. There, he was strategically involved in launching the organization’s first branch office — and subsequently three additional branch offices over the next several years. In July 2000 Jeff made another move — this time to launch his own staffing company, continuing his IT focus. In 2003 the organization was reinvented. Relying on his earlier sales career in the insurance industry, the company changed course and began building the firm around the insurance industry. The company continues to put all their energy in the insurance sector filling positions of all titles across the country. Jeff and his wife Carolyn have been married since 1980. They have three children and seven grandchildren.
Contact Us

Landing Page Form

Share our blog with others