Help! We Wish We Could Ghost A Candidate

Dear Mike,  

We’ve just completed the hiring process with a GREAT candidate… or so we thought. They performed well in the interviews (very personable and knowledgeable), so we issued an offer that was immediately accepted. Here’s where the red flags started cropping up.  

First, the candidate stopped responding consistently to emails. Then, when he did finally respond, he didn’t use any greetings or call anyone by name, and he used slang and chatspeak. It’s like speaking to my teenager. If I wasn’t worried about him seeing this, I’d paste one of the emails below, but for example’s sake, it’s a lot of: “lol,” “k,” and “thx.”  

My team started to think that he’d had second thoughts and didn’t want the job, so we took two days to come up with a game plan. After our delay, he reached out in a completely professional, polite, and appropriate correspondence commensurate with what we’d expect based on his interview. It didn’t last. We told him we’d be in touch shortly, and he responded with a “👍.” 

If this is what we’re seeing before he starts, what can we expect once he’s part of the team? We are giving legitimate consideration to rescinding the offer, but how do I explain the reason for the offer being withdrawn? Again, I’m thinking about my teenager here: I need to do better than “kind of” describe the problem; I want this person to know why they’ve lost this opportunity, and that means saying more than, “We don’t like your attitude,” or “You’re not a good culture fit.” If I’m straight with him, perhaps he’ll actually learn something from this and grow – and maybe, next time, he won’t waste the time and resources of a prospective employer.  

I spent hours Googling this and found a lot of advice from the opposite direction. Apparently, it’s a lot more common for companies to behave badly after hiring than candidates. Judging by my search, no one has really seen a great interview followed-up by abysmal post-interview communication before.   

I wouldn’t wish this on my worst enemy, but I’m hoping you’ve seen something like this (or at least, can imagine it) and will be able to talk me through possible ways of approaching this.  

Thank you,  

A Perplexed People Manager 

Dear Perplexed, 

This situation isn’t all that uncommon, which I hope comes as a relief to hear. About 15 years ago, I hired a new crop of employees, fresh out of college. Every single one of them wrote as if they were texting their friends. Now, this was a global sales organization, and one day, a customer forwarded me one of the employee-written emails. He said, “I don’t understand what this person is saying.” I took a look and, honestly, I didn’t understand what she was saying either. Text abbreviations might end up being the downfall of civilization as we know it, but that’s a different matter.  

Text abbreviations might end up being the downfall of civilization

I signed the whole company up for a professional writing course, even the employees who didn’t have an issue. For me, it was an opportunity to say, “Wait a minute. Maybe these employees haven’t had a chance to develop the professional habits I’d like to see representing our company.” It became a learning opportunity to coach the new employees on this skill as part of their review process. 

So, I guess the real question is this: Is the candidate’s communication style your only concern, or do you have other doubts about the legitimacy of their experience? If the former, is that enough to sour you on this candidate? If the latter (or if your answer to the former is yes), then it’s better to pull the ripcord. Once they’re onboard, it’s going to be way harder to unwind it. 

Once they’re onboard, it’s going to be way harder to unwind it

If that’s the path you choose, then it’s fine to just say, “Hey, we’ve noticed you seem more causal and less interested. The quality of your communication seems to have fallen off, and it’s given us pause about whether you’re the right fit for the job, so we’re going to pause the hiring process right now and reopen the search for candidates.” With that said, it is good to talk this over with your hiring team – let them know why you made this decision so the process can be adjusted for future candidates. 

Talk 2 u l8r, 

Mike 

In today's business climate, it’s healthy to feel unsure at least a few times a week. If you’d like some input on a difficult workplace scenario, send a DM or leave me a question anonymously. Over 25 years as a serial fintech entrepreneur, I've averted my share of disasters. Schedule a consultation with me and we can outsmart your avalanches together.