Why Employers Go Silent in Interview Process

As in dating, ghosting also occurs in the interview process. Employers who initially seem interested then disappear, often for the reasons listed below (as detailed in this excellent article):

1. The most benign reason is the employer is still sorting through resumes, hasn’t figured out whom to hire yet, and doesn’t want to give feedback until then. Yes, it wouldn’t kill them to communicate where they are in the process to you, but this scenario does commonly happen.
2. The hiring manager is out, perhaps due to illness, leave, or travel.
3. A new candidate has entered the picture, and the employer has to get that person through the process.
4. Senior management has changed the criteria or wants to sign off on the hire too.
5. The company is reorganizing internally, so it has to figure out how and where to slot in the person, or whether to change the role.
6. The employer is dealing with some crisis or hot project.

While ghosting by the employer is incredibly rude, it can happen due to a whole variety of reasons. I have seen all the scenarios above happen. Candidates ideally should be interviewing with multiple employers, not pin their hopes on only one place, and know when to move on. It’s acceptable to follow up once to thank the interviewer and reiterate interest, but it doesn’t help (and can annoy the interviewer) to check in frequently, especially if one of the 6 scenarios above is playing out on their end.