There has been a sharp rise in Generation Zs ghosting employers at job interviews - and even after being offered a role. However they say ghosting goes both ways.

Also known as ‘Zoomers’, Generation Z is made up of those born between 1997 and 2012.

A 2024 Edge Recruitment survey of 250 Zoomers showed that 34 per cent of all South Australian Gen Z job hunters has ghosted an employer multiple times, 15 per cent has done so once and half have never ghosted.

Ghosting, or suddenly cutting off all communication without explanation, is more prevalent today than it was before 2020.

Job seekers ghosting recruiters or hiring managers is highly indicative of the current labour market dynamics. In 2021, as the labour market gradually recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic, job opportunities were not as abundant as they are today, and job seekers prioritised job security. This led to 7% of hiring managers identifying candidate ghosting as a significant recruitment challenge, according to our comprehensive market report, which encompasses data from over 1,050 employers.

As the talent-short market flourished and surged in 2022, job seekers gained substantial negotiation power, and ghosting emerged as a significant issue for 30% of hiring managers.

With the market deceleration in 2023 and 2024, the incidence of ghosting also declined by 28% in 2023 and 24% in 2024, although it has not yet reverted to pre-2020 levels.

Edge’s senior recruitment consultant Kelly Armstrong said ghosting is symptomatic of a larger issue – a lack of communication styles during the recruitment process.

With almost 5 million Gen Z in Australia (19% of the national population), by 2030, they will represent a third of the Australian workforce. As they continue to enter the workforce over the next decade and gradually become the largest generation in the workforce, it is important to not just understand the largely-publicised changing expectations that this generation has towards their careers – but their communication style and expectations as well.

Kelly also issued a warning to the job seekers considering ghosting, or those who have.

“South Australia is a small world, and it’s essential for job seekers to understand the long-term impact ghosting can have on future opportunities within the organisations they have ghosted.

“Such actions will remain on record and may affect their future applications with those same organisations or people,” said Kelly.

There have also been reports of ghosting on the other side of the recruitment process, with Edge Recruitment’s newest team member Nina Poulsom Toral saying that during her recent job search, she submitted 200 job applications within a month and heard back from only two.

“I find it very frustrating that employers don’t text you back, even if you haven’t successfully gotten the role,” said Nina.

“Sometimes an interview will go really well, and you believe you’ve been short-listed and then you never hear from them again.”

Employment platform SEEK conducted a study of 403 job seekers in 2023 and found 66 per cent of prospective candidates had been ghosted about their application with a company.

The study found the most common time to be ghosted was after the application, with 37 per cent experiencing it post application, while 23 per cent experienced it after both application and interview stages.

If you’re a job seeker or an employer who has experienced ghosting (by Gen Z or not!), Edge Recruitment’s highly experienced team of recruiters with decades of experience in the South Australian property industry can help you find exactly what you’re looking for - with no ghosting! Get in touch today to discuss your next career move or staffing needs.