HR Myth #14: " If they really want the job , they'll follow up themselves."

GHOSTING phenomenon

Employee Perspective

“I never heard back, pure silence"

“I applied through the job portal, showed ‘Application Submitted' no email, no call, nothing. Weeks passed.”

“I even sent a follow-up, just asking if the role was still open. No reply. Silence.”

“It wasn’t about rejection I just wanted closure. Some acknowledgment.”

I felt invisible, told my friends, “Don’t bother applying there they ghost candidates.”

Employer Perspective

“We’re too busy to reply to everyone.”

“We don’t have a recruitment team, replying takes too much time.”

“If they really want it, they’ll follow up, we only contact shortlisted ones, the rest no need lah”

Here's the thing when you GHOST applicants

Damage-Kill your employer brand

Top talents may never apply again - stay away

Rejected candidates become vocal critics on LinkedIn, on Glassdoor, everywhere

You lose out on future-fit candidates who just hope for a better timing / role fit

The Truth :

Candidate experience starts before they’re hired.

Even if you don’t select them, how you treat candidates says a lot about your company culture.

What businesses can do improve candidate communication

1️⃣ Set up an auto-response

Simple “Thank you for applying, we’ll contact shortlisted candidates within X days” is already respectful

2️⃣ Give realistic timelines

If your hiring process takes 3 weeks, let them upfront, don’t leave them guessing

3️⃣ Send a polite rejection

One-click email templates via JobStreet, LinkedIn, or Gmail can do this in bulk

4️⃣ Communicate interview outcomes

Even a short WhatsApp message like “Thanks for attending, we’ve gone with another candidate” makes a huge difference

5️⃣ Leave the door open

Let strong but unsuccessful candidates know you’ll keep them in view for future roles and mean it

Real Example

A firm I helped had 200+ applicants per job ad but never responded to non-shortlisted ones.
They didn't have time + didn't understand the repercussions.
Through time, applications declined, quality CVs dwindled.

Then we...
> Created a simple thank-you auto-reply, leverage HR Tech
> Schedule 30 minutes weekly to send out status updates & rejection emails
> Add kind message “Please stay connected for future roles”
we created more goodwill, more referrals, better-quality applicants.

Final Thought

Not replying doesn’t just look unprofessional it looks disrespectful.
You don’t need a big HR team to treat people like people.
Simple process + HR Tech.

Because today's rejected applicant might be tomorrow’s best hire or even your future client.

I am Kevin Goh, Empowering People & Businesses | Building Modern HR for the Evolving Workplace

This article originally appeared on LinkedIn by Kevin Goh – Director. You can read the full post here. Adapted and shared with permission.