Did They Ghost You? A Public Record of Interview Silence

DidTheyGhostYou.com creates a public accountability record for interview ghosting

DidTheyGhostYou.com is an anonymous, moderated platform designed to track and expose companies that cease communication with candidates after the interview process has begun. By maintaining a "ghosting leaderboard," the site aims to incentivize better communication practices in hiring by making professional silence a matter of public record.

How the reporting system works

To maintain fairness and data integrity, the platform employs a specific set of rules for what constitutes "ghosting" and how reports are processed:

• Strict Definition of Ghosting: A report is only valid if a company stops responding after an interview has occurred. Unanswered initial job applications do not qualify as ghosting.
• Moderation Process: Every submission is reviewed by a moderator before it affects a company's public total. Reports lacking a factual candidate account are rejected.
• Anonymity: The platform does not collect or publish the names of candidates or interviewers to protect the privacy of the individuals involved.
• Balanced Feedback: The site includes a "Good Communicators" section, allowing candidates to recognize companies that provide clear communication, even when the outcome is a rejection.
• Dispute Mechanism: Both companies and candidates can request corrections or reviews under a formal moderation policy.

Common causes of professional silence

Discussion among candidates and hiring managers reveals that ghosting is often the result of systemic failures rather than intentional malice. Common triggers include:

• Personnel Turnover: Recruiters may be suddenly terminated or leave the company, leaving candidates in limbo without a hand-off system.
• Internal Indecision: Hiring managers may fail to make a decision, or company-wide hiring freezes may be implemented mid-process, leaving recruiters unable to provide updates.
• Personal Emergencies: In rare cases, recruiters may experience sudden death or long-term leave (such as parental leave), causing communication to vanish abruptly.
• Organizational Chaos: Smaller startups or overwhelmed HR departments may lack the infrastructure to manage candidate pipelines, leading to accidental silence.

Candidate perspectives on the impact of ghosting

Job seekers report that ghosting can occur at various stages of the pipeline, sometimes with severe consequences:

• Post-Onsite Silence: Some candidates report being ghosted after full-day onsite interviews or multi-round technical gauntlets.
• False Offers: There are accounts of candidates receiving verbal offers or being told an offer letter was "coming next week," only to be ghosted, leading them to turn down other legitimate opportunities.
• The "Slow Fade": Some candidates experience a cycle of apologies and requests for availability that never materialize into an actual interview or offer.

"I did a months worth of rounds. Was told the offer letter would be coming within the next week. Turned down other companies on the gamble that it was actually coming. Never came." — Hacker News user @chrismarlow9

Critical counterpoints and limitations

While the platform is praised by many, critics and skeptics have raised several points regarding its utility and fairness:

• Sample Size Issues: Some users argue that small sample sizes (e.g., "1 of 1") are not statistically significant and can lead to unfair recommendations.
• Normalization Bias: Critics suggest the leaderboard will naturally converge on large companies simply because they conduct more interviews, regardless of their relative ghosting rate.
• Legal Risks: Some users warn that the site may face "cease and desist" letters from corporate legal teams.
• Professional Stoicism: Some hiring managers suggest that ghosting is an inevitable part of the modern economy and that candidates should "suck it up and just move on" rather than focusing on the emotional bruise to their ego.