I Counted How Many Jobs Ghosted Me In OneYear

It started with a sudden bout of curiosity. The months and months that I had applied and either gotten rejected or ghosted MUST have produced an interesting number. So, I sat down in front of my laptop and scoured through all the emails I had received when I had applied for jobs.

I went through and searched for the names in my emails to see if the company had responded to me. I then collected all the names into a very basic excel document. One column was reserved for the number of times the company hadn’t responded if I’d applied more than once.

Keep in mind, this was all over the course of a year. I saw it as a test, a challenge of sorts. Surely the number couldn't be as high as I thought. Armed with my excel spreadsheet, I went to work and boy did it take a while.

Name after name went onto the list until I believed I was finished. I did a second round on my emails to make sure I was accurate and didn’t miss anyone or accidentally condemn someone who shouldn't be there.

I sat back in my chair, stunned at the results. I needed a moment whereby I showed my partner who was industriously working behind me.

“Shit,” he said. He then fell silent. I was silent.

There were 87. I had been ghosted 87 times, and sometimes not even once by a single company. There was a certain media company (whom I shall not name) that had ghosted me 4 times. It was shocking to me to see the results and at first, I didn’t believe it so I added the numbers again and let excel calculate the total.

I had written an article on ghosting recruiters in the past (you can read that here) but I thought it would be appropriate to talk about the sheer number that thinks that not responding to applicants is… OK? Somehow?

I’ve now become more conscious when I’m applying for jobs and tend to avoid the ones who have ghosted me. I noticed that a position I had applied for who had ghosted in the past couple of months had done the same thing last year when I first applied. Since then I had redone my resume completely so it looks great and has my updated information.

I have had more positive responses to it but the same companies are still doing what they had done a year ago. It’s an odd mixture of fascinating and saddening. I can’t fathom how it must feel for others applying for work at such a desperate time and still not having responses.

I think that’s probably the worst of it all. Many people have lost their jobs this year over the course of lockdown. It’s a duty of employers and recruiters to ensure that they treat each applicant with respect and empathy. But all I’m experiencing is apathy instead and that in itself is highly damaging.

So, what did I learn from this? Firstly I learnt that even though this was a little heartbreaking, it was still worth it. It was an easy way to get a feel for a company’s true culture and honestly, I wouldn't want to work for a company that won’t treat even potential employees with respect.

I learnt to research more into a company before applying for a position there. That includes looking at reviews from ex-employees and what they thought about their time there.

I learnt that even though I had been ghosted so many times, it didn’t diminish my value. That was a hard one. Mostly because it was due to the numbers that I started to question my self and second guess my decisions relating to my career. But the truth is that the number doesn’t reflect on me. It reflects on them.

So you, the reader, I hope you’re not devaluing yourself. Your worth is in the work you do in and outside of a workplace. Whether that be artwork, a hobby, reading, learning. You have value and the numbers mean sh*t.