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> Yeah, the tendency to 'ghost' people is a huge problem in society now, and companies seem to prefer it to just saying 'no'. What do you think this is attribu

> Yeah, the tendency to 'ghost' people is a huge problem in society now, and companies seem to prefer it to just saying 'no'. What do you think this is attributable to? Is it that technology has shortened our attention spans so much that we no longer encode the memories of recent experiences?

krapp 8y ago
If a company doesn't hire you, then by definition they have determined that your time is of no value to them, so it would literally be a waste of their resources to interact with you further.
- staticautomatic 8y ago
  Unless you consider the company's reputation and good will a resource...
  - krapp 8y ago
    Except this is already standard operating procedure for most companies, and it doesn't seem to have affected them.
    - meowface 8y ago
      It probably does affect them, though, whether they're aware of it or not. Some of the best talent they can get probably reads HN threads like these. A prospective great employee could easily read this thread, see stories of company X ghosting people, and decide to avoid them.
- staticassertion 8y ago
  Not necessarily. Companies should be assuming false negatives in their process and should be encouraging reapplication in most cases. It is in their best interests to provide feedback to the developer and a good experience.
  - kimberlychen 8y ago
    Agree here. The application/hiring experience makes a lot of difference. This is cliche, but it shows a company's culture and values.
- ThorinJacobs 8y ago
  This may be internally consistent, but what of applicants following up on their applications? A sizable portion of the workflow believes - and is advised by job search coaches - that the correct response to being ghosted is to follow up on the application. Do you not waste more time fielding and diverting followup calls than simply sending (at minimum) a quick form email to remove all doubt?
techsupporter 8y ago
I think it's two reasons: 1) People are becoming super averse to conflict and, by extension, confrontation. I think it's for myriad reasons. Not wanting to deal with the possibly-negative response; being accused of something; the other party exacting some form of retribution; and so on. I think the perception is that if one party says "[not-preferred reply]," the other party feels maligned instead of just that "it didn't work out." 2) Along the same lines, I think not saying "no" is also seen as responsibility shifting. "Well, I didn't tell them 'yes' so they'll figure it out soon enough." And then the ghosted party is then held as being responsible for their own feelings. "Not my problem you felt bad that [a possible employer | an acquaintance | some other interaction] never called you back. Those are your feelings, not [mine | ours]."
shanghaiaway 8y ago
Interactions are low touch and large in number. Since relationships are weak ghosting is seen as acceptable and frankly reaching out to every person may take too much effort. Not saying it's okay because I hate it too. Just explaining this phenomenon that appears to have been caused by digital communications.

krapp 8y ago

If a company doesn't hire you, then by definition they have determined that your time is of no value to them, so it would literally be a waste of their resources to interact with you further.

staticautomatic 8y ago
Unless you consider the company's reputation and good will a resource...
- krapp 8y ago
  Except this is already standard operating procedure for most companies, and it doesn't seem to have affected them.
  - meowface 8y ago
    It probably does affect them, though, whether they're aware of it or not. Some of the best talent they can get probably reads HN threads like these. A prospective great employee could easily read this thread, see stories of company X ghosting people, and decide to avoid them.
staticassertion 8y ago
Not necessarily. Companies should be assuming false negatives in their process and should be encouraging reapplication in most cases. It is in their best interests to provide feedback to the developer and a good experience.
- kimberlychen 8y ago
  Agree here. The application/hiring experience makes a lot of difference. This is cliche, but it shows a company's culture and values.
ThorinJacobs 8y ago
This may be internally consistent, but what of applicants following up on their applications? A sizable portion of the workflow believes - and is advised by job search coaches - that the correct response to being ghosted is to follow up on the application. Do you not waste more time fielding and diverting followup calls than simply sending (at minimum) a quick form email to remove all doubt?

techsupporter 8y ago

I think it's two reasons: 1) People are becoming super averse to conflict and, by extension, confrontation. I think it's for myriad reasons. Not wanting to deal with the possibly-negative response; being accused of something; the other party exacting some form of retribution; and so on. I think the perception is that if one party says "[not-preferred reply]," the other party feels maligned instead of just that "it didn't work out." 2) Along the same lines, I think not saying "no" is also seen as responsibility shifting. "Well, I didn't tell them 'yes' so they'll figure it out soon enough." And then the ghosted party is then held as being responsible for their own feelings. "Not my problem you felt bad that [a possible employer | an acquaintance | some other interaction] never called you back. Those are your feelings, not [mine | ours]."

shanghaiaway 8y ago

Interactions are low touch and large in number. Since relationships are weak ghosting is seen as acceptable and frankly reaching out to every person may take too much effort. Not saying it's okay because I hate it too. Just explaining this phenomenon that appears to have been caused by digital communications.