People hate to get “ghosted” in any situation, personal or professional. But for job seekers who may already be struggling with self-esteem, it can be particularly devastating. Ghost Reply is a new online service that will help you compose and send an email nudge to the ghoster, sending a “kind reminder” telling them how unprofessional it is to leave someone hanging like that.
Ghost Reply wants to help you reach catharsis in all of this stressful mess of finding a job. Almost all of the problems and feelings are compounded by this confounded pandemic that has decimated areas of the workforce and taken jobs and threatened people’s financial security. It is understandable to want to lash out at those in power, and sending a Ghost Reply email to the recruiter or HR person may make you feel better in the short term.
In the long run, though, will it solve anything? Ghost Reply suggests it may make the HR person or recruiter reevaluate their hiring processes, indicating this type of email may help them see the error of their ways and start replying to all potential candidates. If it helps them reassess and be more considerate in the future and helps you find closure in the application/interview process, that would be the ideal outcome on all fronts. It is not likely this will happen, though.
The Ghost Reply sample email has the subject line “You have a message from a candidate!” Then it begins, “Hi, (name), You’re receiving this email because a past candidate feels like you ghosted them unfairly.” It then has a space for said candidate to add on any personal notes regarding the recruiter or process while remaining anonymous.
I get it. It’s upsetting to have someone disappear after you’ve spent time and energy applying, possibly even interviewing, only to hear nothing but crickets back from the recruiter or HR person you interacted with. It’s happened to me more than once, and it’s no bueno. We all want to be seen. We all want to be valued. Ghosting is hurtful. The frustration and disappointment, even anger, that you feel is certainly relatable. According to several sources, being ghosted after applying for a job is one of the top complaints from job seekers on the market today.
Will an anonymous, passive-aggressive email achieve your end? Will the chastened company representative suddenly have a lightbulb go off over their heads, creating a wave of change in company policy? I don’t see it. The first sentence of the sample email, in fact, is not going to be well received by HR.
When you start talking about what’s “unfair,” most HR people will tune out immediately. That kind of language in itself is unprofessional and is a red flag to many people. Once you work at a company and know its culture and have built relationships, then, maybe, just maybe, can you start talking about your work-related feelings. I believe in talking about our feelings, but rarely is a work scenario the best place to do so (I speak from experience). Calling it unprofessional is better, less about you and more about the other person’s behavior.
However, it’s unclear how productive Ghost Reply actually is. Or how anonymous, frankly. By process of deduction, the recipient of the email may be able to figure out who sent it, if it even makes it through the company’s spam filters. Even if they cannot pinpoint the exact person, it may cast doubts on several applicants or leave a bad taste in the recruiter’s mouth. It sounds like sour grapes, which is never a good thing.
There may be any number of reasons you didn’t get the job offer or interview, and they may or may not have something to do with you. Recruiters answer your burning questions, including why you may have been ghosted in this recent article in The American Genius.
Ultimately, you will never know why they ghosted you. If it makes you feel better or at least see the issue from both sides, the amount of job candidates ghosting recruiters after applying and even interviewing is equally high. Some people simply either have awful time management skills or awful manners, and at the end of the day, there’s not much you can do about that.
Focus on your own survival while job hunting, instead of these disappointing moments or the person who ghosts you. It will serve you better in the long run than some anonymous revenge email. There are other ways to deal with your frustration and anger when you do get ghosted, though. Try the classic punching your pillow. Try taking a walk around the block. If it helps to put your frustration into words, and it very well may, then do so. Write it on a piece of paper, then burn it. Or type it all in an email and delete it. For your own sake, do NOT put their email address in the “To” line, lest you accidentally hit “Send.”
The sooner you can let it go, the sooner you can move on to finding a better job fit for you.
Lani
September 18, 2007 at 12:15 pm
Oh man, I can’t wait for this series!
Shailesh Ghimire
September 19, 2007 at 12:06 pm
This ought to be interesting. I’m on the lending side, so I’m not familiar with this flood of e-mails you guys might get. Judging by the “Bad MLS photo of the day” series, I’m assuming these e-mails will prove to be very interesting.
Looking forward to it.
B. R.
September 19, 2007 at 12:29 pm
Shailesh, it’s no joke, I’m getting upwards of 30-40 a week. I used to keep them, but once I realized that it was getting out of hand I tried too delete when I got them. Now I get one every time my inbox send/recieves. Whats most interesting is that they have my email from ABOR. I do not recall giving anyone permission with ABOR to profit from my email. If more agents react, then maybe it will curb. But I doubt it.
Jonathan Dalton
September 19, 2007 at 7:49 pm
I use the e-mail flyers on occasion because they are the least costly seller appeasement tool I’ve found. Inconvenient? Sure. But your deleting effort is a small price to pay to keep my seller happy. 🙂
Not to mention I’ve gotten calls off of them, as much as that would seem to defy the odds. (Assuming I send them out on a Thursday for pre-weekend consumption.)
I didn’t give ARMLS permission to make money off my e-mail yesterday, but these flyers are but a drop in the SPAM stream I navigate each morning.
Good talking to you today, sir.
B. R.
September 19, 2007 at 8:42 pm
We do mailers to our buyers, and to our mailing lists we gain by sponsoring giveaways at local eateries, banks, subscribers, bridal shows, mba grads (they’ve chosen to sign up) etc… Our list continues to grow and it really costs us nothing- 99% of our marketing is targeted which saves us money. If I’m in your market and your price size and amenities fit my search, I’ll see your listing, tour, and your pics.
You have a chance of gaining more interest from a free craigslist ad then you do a realtor email. But I do understand your need to make sellers happy, but I think you could accomplish the same goal by having a monthly/weekly hotsheet put out by the office manager of ALL listings by the office, then you could repeat the same home if you wanted too and get in front me of more often in a more organized way.
just my two.
you too Jonathan!
Chris Lengquist
September 19, 2007 at 9:20 pm
Wow! You read them? I’m impressed.
I look forward to the series. Though you must realize it could get ugly for you when you piss off the wrong person there in Austin.
I can picture it now. Joe Seller does a Google search for his listing and finds your review. Oh, I’d pay to see that moment in time. 🙂
Jonathan Dalton
September 19, 2007 at 9:26 pm
The hot sheet would work assuming the office was willing to pick up the expense. We’ve seen cost reductions taking place over the last few months, so I wouldn’t expect it.
Now, can a group of agents get together and do the same thing? Probably so. It’s only a matter of finding the right provider as most don’t have templates for multiple properties.
B. R.
September 20, 2007 at 12:03 am
Jonathan, 360degreepix.com a company I use here in Austin can whip up such a template pretty cheaply. I would imagine you guys have a nice fat database of buyers & mix that with some verticalresponse.com and bang, you could do it dirt cheap. just a thought
Steve Belt
September 20, 2007 at 1:53 pm
B.R., this is absolutely great. If I only receive 30-40 a week I’d be surprised. I never considered it as “content” before, but I’ll be sure to give it at least 2 milliseconds thought with that regard before I click delete.
B. R.
September 22, 2007 at 11:14 am
lol good job Steve, it’s fast becoming a movement!
Thomas Johnson
September 28, 2007 at 9:06 am
New listings spam as blog content. How about reconfiguring the email as a craigslist post or a zillow,iggy’s or what ever. As Russell Shaw says: it’s about lines in the water. Is a spam transmission considered permission to promote another broker’s listing? Easier to get forgiveness than permission, especialy if there is some kind of implicit permission granted by sending the spam.