Job seekers across the United States are increasingly finding themselves ghosted by employers, left without responses after submitting applications or completing multiple rounds of interviews. The silence is fueling broader doubts about career choices, with a survey finding that 39% of college graduates say they would not choose the same major again if given the chance. Another 22% said they would leave their field entirely or skip the four-year degree path altogether.
Stacie Haller, chief career advisor at, says the problem often begins with the application itself. She advises candidates to ensure they meet roughly 80% of a job's qualifications before applying. «If you're not qualified for a job, you're going to get ghosted. Period. End of story,» Haller said. Timing also plays a critical role. Applying weeks after a position is posted can make it harder to get noticed, especially when employers are already managing large applicant pools. «If you're applying for a job that's already been posted for even two weeks, you're going to get ghosted,» she said. «They're not even going to get to you.»
The goal, Haller argues, is not to apply to more jobs but to apply more strategically, targeting roles where skills and experience align with employer needs regardless of major or background. She draws a sharp line between pre-interview silence and post-interview ghosting. «Now, if they're ghosted after an interview, that's just unforgivable,» she said. «That is all on the organization. There is absolutely no excuse for that.»
Jillian Phelan, a 25-year HR veteran and chief people officer at Criteria, a talent signal platform, says candidates can get caught in delays as employers move other applicants through the hiring process. «Oftentimes we go through a process before making candidates aware that they weren't selected,» Phelan said. But for applicants, especially younger ones desperate to break into their industry of choice, «many companies are no longer articulating or reaching out to say you did not get the job.»
The experience can be demoralizing. One worker, Bill, who asked to be identified only by his first name to avoid harming his job search, went through several rounds of interviews and followed up with the company but never heard back. It took six weeks for someone to finally tell him the position had been filled. «When an interview process has gone that far, ghosting really diminishes everything about the process,» he said. «Ghosting is the sort of thing that happens in junior high school group chats. It shouldn't be happening in a professional context.»
Haller says employers have even fewer excuses for failing to communicate as artificial intelligence makes it easier to automate parts of the recruiting process. «AI is helping companies get responses out when they need to,» she said. «There's no excuse anymore.»
For those repeatedly hitting a wall, career experts recommend considering other types of roles or entirely different industries where their background could be useful. «Focus more on how you can translate the skills to another industry or a job,» Haller said. «Let's look at what types of positions require those skills.»
One worker, Russ, who also withheld his last name to protect future job prospects, spent 25 years in journalism before being laid off. He spent 18 months trying to make ends meet before moving into banking with an entry-level job in a more stable industry. Ghosting played a role in his departure from media, he said, but broader factors mattered too. «I don't think my reputation or the quality of my work is why I was ghosted, but the business realities of an industry in distress,» he said. Still, he has «no regrets, not for a moment» about his original field. «I got to do the job I dreamed of as a kid.»
Phelan says the goal for applicants is not to let a difficult search convince them that their education, background, or passion have no value. Haller recommends staying open and willing to pivot rather than anchoring yourself to one field. «Your skills will unequivocally translate» somewhere else, she said. A tough market, she adds, does not necessarily mean the four years spent earning a degree were a mistake.