‘I got ghosted after 4 rounds of job interview’ — SG jobseeker who waited ‘3 weeks with no word’ wonders, ‘At what point is the silence truly a ‘no’?’

SINGAPORE: In today’s modern job-seeking nightmares, nothing screams louder than “Welcome to corporate limbo!” quite like the radio silence after a fourth-round interview.

That’s exactly the situation one Singaporean finds himself in. Taking to the r/askSingapore subreddit, he poured out his frustrations after going through an intense, multi-stage interview process with a tech company. “Four rounds, met the team, the whole deal,” he wrote, adding that the hiring manager even told him: “You’re one of the two final candidates, and we’ll be making a decision early next week.”

That promise, however, is now entering its third week of silence. The jobseeker tried to follow up — politely, of course — but received “radio silence” instead. Now, he’s left in that agonising purgatory where hope battles heartbreak: “At what point is the silence truly a ‘no’?”

“You are the backup candidate…”

That’s the blunt diagnosis from the online hivemind. A chorus of Singaporeans joining in with eerily similar experiences — some waiting two months, others ghosted after five interview rounds, and one poor one asked to submit their ORD (operationally ready date) certificate for a role that never materialised.

One ex-recruiter was frank to say that, “You are the second-best candidate… They don’t want to reject you until everything is sorted out with the other.”

A retired HR manager added that while rejections used to be standard etiquette, today’s companies often simply don’t bother unless you’re selected. “Consider the position filled and closed,” he said.

However, there may still be some hope.

Focus on your self-worth

Not all stories ended in “ghosting” doom, though. One local recalled receiving an offer after seven months, while another was told “no updates” for weeks… until a better offer rolled in and he walked away victorious.

Another commenter played it smart: “I told them I had another offer and showed a snippet of the offer letter, so I got offered instantly by the tech company that was interviewing me the next day with a higher salary.”

The lesson is that sometimes the best response to ghosting is to focus on your self-worth.

“It’s a ‘no’ until it’s a ‘yes’ so move on; you don’t need their permission…”

While some prefer to interpret silence as a soft “maybe”, many advised taking control of your own narrative: “Move on. You don’t need their permission to make plans with other companies.”

So, dear job seekers, if you’ve done your best and the silence is deafening, then consider that as your unofficial, unspoken rejection, as one brutally honest commenter said: “You’re already out, bro. They are onboarding the other candidate by now.”

But not all is lost. Keep your chin up. Apply for more jobs. Bust ghosts better.

Read related: ‘Why did HR ghost me after my job interview?’ — Jobseeker asks and gets advice from career coach, who also advises HR to stop ghosting interviewees