“Has basic courtesy and etiquette been thrown out of the window?” SG job seeker shares HR arranged a phone interview with her but never followed through

SINGAPORE: A Singaporean job seeker who was recently ghosted by an HR representative took to social media to ask others, “Is there a lack of basic etiquette in today’s hiring market?”

In a post on r/askSingapore, a Reddit forum, she shared her experience, explaining that an HR representative had contacted her via WhatsApp to discuss a potential full-time position and scheduled a phone interview for the next day to go over her interests.

However, when the scheduled time arrived, the HR representative never called. She waited for an hour and even sent a message to confirm if the call was still on, but received no response.

“I got ghosted and did not receive a single response. If it mattered, the rejection email coincided with the agreed meeting time. It made me believe that I was automatically disqualified for consideration for the full-time role,” she wrote.

Frustrated by the incident, she asked fellow Redditors if this kind of ghosting behavior is common in today’s job market.

She asked, “Has basic courtesy and etiquette been thrown out of the window in today’s hiring market? Are my beliefs valid? It could definitely be a coincidence, but what are the odds?”

She also stated that it should be the HR’s duty to provide a brief reply, such as, “Sorry, the position has been filled,” instead of leaving her hanging since they were the ones who initially reached out.

“Moving forward, should I assume that the company has no interest in my application and I should just move on? I am not looking to namedrop the company or its employee, as it’s a small industry, and I wouldn’t want to burn any bridges,” she added.

“Ghosting is unfortunately common”

In the comments section, many Singaporean Redditors noted that while this behaviour is certainly unprofessional, it’s sadly becoming more common in the hiring process.

One Redditor remarked, “Ghosting is unfortunately common, and it says more about the recruiter/company than you. You will inevitably encounter such people along the way. Accept it as a fact of life and move on.”

Another shared, “Yea ghosting is very common. One time a recruiter sent an email saying I passed the first round and the team is interested in moving forward with my apps.

“She asked me for interview availability and even said she would confirm and get back to me regardless of the outcome. After I replied her with the timings, she didn’t email back again. Ghosted.”

A third agreed, “Yes, I’ve even experienced ghosting from companies after already receiving verbal offers. Guess they changed their minds due to budgeting or other issues.”

Meanwhile, others mentioned that this kind of ghosting isn’t just a one-way street; recruiters have also been ghosted by job candidates.

Some Redditors shared their own experiences of scheduling interviews only to have candidates not show up or completely ignore follow-up messages

One Redditor commented, “I’m working in recruiting. Scheduled an interview last and the candidate accepted. But did not turn up on the scheduled time and did not reply either. As candidates, you can even go to Glassdoor and give your feedback. Unfortunately, I can’t.”

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