‘Ghosting’ – “The practice of ending a personal relationship with someone by suddenly and without explanation withdrawing from all communication.”
The other day I was having a wonderful conversation with a Cardiothoracic Surgeon when he suddenly asked me if I had ever heard of the term “Ghosting.” When I asked why, he told me that he recently had a discussion with his young adult son about this so-called “Ghosting.” The physician went on to say that Ghosting does not only occur in online dating, like how his son had mentioned, but also in the world of recruitment. He added that when he is applying for job opportunities or speaking with recruiters, often he does not hear back from the organization, whether it be by email or phone call, as to whether the healthcare organization is interested in speaking with him or not. Furthermore, this physician said that when he reaches out to an organization to find out the status of his application, on several occasions he did not receive any type of response. Sometimes he is not even aware of whether the organization even received the application!
Recruiters in the health care field today are extremely busy. For every position filled, the recruiter has several new positions to fill. It becomes a forever-ending struggle to keep up with all the emails and phone calls. So yes, the physician that I was speaking with is correct. Unfortunately, “Ghosting” does occur in the world of recruitment.
Developing and building great relationships in recruitment is very similar to online dating. Notifying candidates that they are not chosen for a position is never easy, but not notifying someone at all is unprofessional and can be viewed as somewhat rude. It is important to remain in active communication with candidates throughout the entire application process, from the submission of the application to the decision to interview or not, and throughout the hiring process. This type of constant interaction is necessary for building trustworthy relationships. Acknowledging candidate applications and even letting someone know that they are not a cultural fit for an organization delivers the message to the applicant that you value the individual as a person. You are letting them know that you value their time and understand the importance of their expertise within their field of interest. In fact, it keeps the candidate active in your pool of job seekers.
At Corazon, honesty and full transparency are always key when speaking with candidates regarding the clients that we represent. If you know why an organization did not choose the candidate, it is critical to let the candidate know. This allows the applicant to use this knowledge to their advantage as they continue in their career search. Preferably, this is done by calling or emailing the candidate quickly which allows the candidate to continue in their search for a different opportunity, as opposed to waiting on a response that they may never get.
During the application process, it is important to respond to candidates quickly. This can affect how the company is perceived. Often, candidates will share their experiences with their peers, whether it be positive or negative (but especially the negative ones). For Corazon Recruitment, we take pride in having positive experiences with our clients. In today’s competitive world, competition is extremely high. Recruiters want to give the candidate a positive experience, so they in turn speak highly of the organization to their peers.
The recruitment team at Corazon places a priority on forming positive relationships with physicians and administrators when assisting with their application process. Direct, concise communication with clients and candidates is extremely important to our organization. The entire company is constructed around developing and maintaining relationships now and for many years to come. The recruiters take pride in building long-lasting relationships so “Ghosting” does not occur!
