A new US survey says 66% of job seekers were ghosted by an employer after an interview, and 34% have ghosted one back. Fair game, or never acceptable?

What happened

A survey by NumberBarn of Americans who applied for jobs in the past year, reported by Allwork on 30 September, found 66% had experienced an employer going silent after an interview, and 18% had received a verbal job offer before the employer stopped communicating. 34% said they had intentionally ghosted an employer because of poor treatment, and 61% said their trust in employers had fallen. In Vietnam, a company founder's account of a candidate who messaged at 3:01pm, a minute after a 3pm interview was due to start, to say the role wasn't a good fit sparked a similar debate this month.

Why people disagree

Some say employers set the norm: if companies routinely leave applicants without a reply, often through automated systems, candidates owe them no more courtesy than they get. Others say a quick message costs nothing, that someone has cleared time in their day for you, and that how you leave a hiring process reflects how you work and can follow you in a small industry.

What's still unclear

The survey's sample size wasn't published, and it covers only US applicants. It's unclear whether ghosting is rising on both sides or just being talked about more, and whether rules on job adverts or reply times would change behaviour.