SINGAPORE: A job seeker recently shared on social media that recruiters on LinkedIn had ghosted her because she responded 30 minutes late.
“Is this normal? I’ve had several recruiters reaching out to me on LinkedIn every now and then, and some of them just outright ghost me out of nowhere,” the job seeker wrote on r/askSingapore on Saturday (May 25).
She then recounted one specific incident: a recruiter contacted her late at night, around 11 pm on a weekend. “I was having a good conversation with her until I delayed my response a bit and replied 30 minutes later,” she wrote.
“I get recruiters get a ton of options but like, what the hell are you even freaking messaging me in the first place expressing interest only to ghost me immediately after?? Like what???”
She also noted that all this ghosting happened “within less than an hour” of messaging her, suggesting that these recruiters couldn’t have already filled the position within such a short time span, and there might be other reasons for their behaviour.
“Anyone who’s a recruiter can explain this ridiculously rude behaviour?” she asked for clarification.
Towards the end of her post, she suggested that platforms like LinkedIn should incorporate features to hold recruiters accountable for such conduct.
“Its like a dating app la. They are chatting with other candidates.”
In the comments section, the Singaporean Redditors explained to the job seeker that recruiters are constantly expanding their candidate pool, which means they may not have ample time to engage with everyone for long durations.
One Redditor pointed out that the recruiter the job seeker thought was having a “good conversation” with her was likely talking to many other candidates simultaneously.
Some of these candidates may have even been further along in the hiring process, receiving more attention as a result.
He then gave the job seeker a reality check, writing, “Just remember that you’re not as special as you think you are to anyone, and then life gets a lot less frustrating.”
Another Redditor added that while recruiters may have “good conversations” with many candidates, those talks often lack a personal touch because of the sheer number of people they’re dealing with.
“You’re just a pay check to them at the end of the day. Don’t take it too personally.”
Moreover, a third Redditor likened the recruiter-candidate dynamic to online matchmaking, saying, “Its like a dating app la. They are chatting with other candidates.
Either you reply when you’re free or find something more suitable and move on already. You are their product; they won’t ghost you if you are suitable.”
The conversation also touched on holding recruiters accountable on LinkedIn. One Redditor mentioned that there’s already an option to do so.
He said, “Take a screenshot and post it on your LinkedIn feed and call them out. But don’t later complain that no one messages you anymore.”
In related news, another job seeker criticized recruiters on social media for perpetually playing mind games with job seekers.
Read more about it over here: SG jobseeker says recruiters now play mind games by giving applicants tons of assignments before ghosting them
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