I've Been Ghosted
The interview is over! You aced it. Your connection with the hiring manager was spot-on and they told you that they would touch base about the next steps.
You wait.
...and wait.
…..and wait.
The silence sends you in panic mode, leaving you in this strange limbo of not knowing what to do.
- You sent a follow-up email already. Do you send another?
- You check and re-check the job listing to see if it’s still posted
- You stress about next steps and whether or not you should stay the course or move on.
Although this is considered bad practice in the hiring world, it is unfortunately not uncommon. The first thing you should know is that it isn’t personal; there are various factors that could have come into play following your interview. These can include:
- Large candidate pool: You may have been one of the first interviews they have conducted and still have quite a few more to get to. This could take weeks depending on their interviewee and hiring team’s schedules.
- Holding position: A position that relied on funding or an allocated budget may have been disrupted. The role could have been put on hold and the hiring team is awaiting updates.
- It’s on their schedule: The role may not need to be filled immediately, so the organization is taking its time to find the best fit.
- Things are happening behind the scenes: Maybe critical people are out sick or on vacation. Maybe high priority items have arisen within the organization that needs to be tackled first. Maybe a last-minute candidate has emerged and they want to include them in the interview cycle.
Whatever it is, take a breath and relax. You can only control what you can and need to remember that no interview automatically leads to a confirmed job. In the meantime, you can consider taking these steps to ensure you have tied up any outstanding loose ends before finally moving on.
- Send a follow-up email: If you haven’t done so already, follow up with an email indicating that you are still very much interested in the role and inquire about next steps. You may also ask if they need any additional information or have any outstanding questions that you can answer. This may be helpful in prompting a response.
- Keep your momentum going: Just because you got one interview, doesn’t mean that it is the end of your job search. If anything, that is an indicator that your resume is in good shape and that you should continue to apply to other positions.
- Truthful reality check: It may be a hard truth but if they really want you, they will reach out to you. If you haven’t heard from them after putting in effort, then just move on.
Don’t bombard the hiring manager with messages. If they are unresponsive, it’s best to assume that you will not be moving forward with the role. Put it out of your head and bring new energy into the next possible opportunity. Like most things in life, it if didn’t work out, it wasn’t meant to be.