There is no response from the employer, there is neither acceptance nor rejection. “Ghost” is the name of the phenomenon in technical terms. The term originally comes from the field of dating, when one of two flirty people suddenly breaks off contact without comment. However, many candidates also experience this behavior when applying and they are left in the same perplexity. What can I do with ghosts after the interview? We have a few suggestions.

How can I react to ghosting after the interview?

Before we go into more detail about ghosting after the interview, it must be stated clearly. Such behavior is neither professional, nor polite, nor does it speak for a good employer. The least that applicants can expect after the interview is a rejection. Then at least they know where they stand.

But many applicants torment themselves with questions like:

• Have I done something wrong after all?
• Did I say something stupid?
• Wasn’t my self-presentation bad?
• Why don’t they get in touch, it went so well?
• How could my feelings fool me so?
• Is the position filled or not?

The clear message for you is: please don’t tear yourself apart and don’t take ghosting personally. The mistake here is with the employer, not you! Such behavior is just not okay. Point.

In contrast to dating, applicants can still do a lot at this point and react cleverly to the sudden break in contact .

Here are the tried and tested tips against ghosting :

• Ask about deadlines

  The first tip against ghosting after the interview starts with the interview. At the end of the job interview, please always ask how things will continue now and when you can expect an answer. That is not outrageous, but an understandable question and a legitimate expectation. This gives you a clear deadline. You actually have to be patient for the time in between. But after that you have a real reason to get in touch.

• Write a thank you letter

  If you have forgotten about the deadline, you can formulate a so-called thank you letter within a week. Not only errors or false statements made can be corrected in this. In this way, you can confirm your wish to work for the company again and look forward to an early decision. That at least puts you on the radar of HR professionals again.

• Have patience

  Basically: After the interview you should wait at least two to three weeks. Almost all HR departments need that long for the selection process. After all, there are usually several applicants. And you want to get to know them all before the decision is made. It just takes time. Therefore please never push, be rude or force. Not only does it sound impolite, it also looks desperate – as if you urgently need the job. Even if that’s true: you are not looking good and weakening your negotiating position. By the way, it’s just like dating and flirting.

• Actively ask

  If all reasonable deadlines have passed and you have still not heard from the employer (i.e. real ghosting ), then you can take action and follow up by phone. Call the company (the number is on the website in the legal notice), ask your way through to the HR department and inquire about the current status of the application process. Always respectful, always polite! Don’t threaten, don’t be offended – ask! “When can I expect an answer?” “What do you think: How much longer do you need?” This will give you another deadline and more clarity. Sometimes it’s not just a lack of interest in you, but a completely overloaded HR department.

And if you are still fobbed off, immersed and put off, you see the ghosting phenomenon as positive: Here a dubious employer is just being exposed.

Ultimately, everyone has to ask themselves whether they want to work for a company that already shows little respect for its applicants and does not even send a rejection or otherwise respond appropriately to inquiries.

In such a case, you can even turn the tables and send a friendly (!) email in which you withdraw your application and ask for your application documents to be returned or for your data to be deleted. Associated with the request to confirm the deletion.

As long as you formulate this completely objectively and without reproach , the employer now has a problem: He MUST react. Because according to the GDPR ( General Data Protection Regulation ) he is obliged to delete your data.

Of course the job is gone too. But you’ve already made the decision. At this point, however, you can at least on a professional level sanction ghosting after the interview.