Ghosting has become an epidemic among job seekers. In a tight labor market, dominated by headlines about the Great Resignation, the opportunities often arrive quickly, with candidates losing their manners in the rush to find the perfect job. When looking for jobs in Massachusetts or Rhode Island, make sure you are making the right decisions for your career.

However, you need to be careful. Ghosting a job interview can seem like a small thing in the moment. But it can have a lasting impact on your career development. One study found that three-quarters of job seekers report ghosting a prospective employer. That survey specifically targeted the time after a job interview. But it points to the large number of candidates who abruptly drop contact with the company when they feel they have a better chance to advance their careers somewhere else.

Don’t fall into this trap. A little courtesy now can lead to significant benefits in the future. With that in mind, here’s why ghosting interviews can have negative repercussions on your career.

The Scary Truth: How Ghosting Can Negatively Impact Your Career

You Don’t Gain Any Benefit

Some decisions require a tradeoff. You create negative consequences on one end, but you make up for it with benefits gained elsewhere. In these cases, a certain risk-reward calculation comes into play.

Ghosting an employer doesn’t have this dynamic. There are no upsides. The tiny amount of time or thought you save won’t matter in the long run. Meanwhile, you risk major career consequences.

You Close Off Possibilities with That Employer

Ghosting an employer limits your choices in the future. By rudely blowing them off now, it becomes difficult to apply for another position with that company down the line.

That might not seem like a big deal right now — after all, the firm obviously didn’t appeal to you for this particular job offer. However, you never know what the future will hold. A more enticing position could become available, or your situation could change. Better to maintain good relations and keep your options open.

You Hurt Your Relationship with the Individuals Involved

The implications of ghosting an employer go beyond the specific company involved. Along with the corporate entity, you need to think about the individuals involved.

When you ghost, you effectively close the door on any future hiring decision involving the specific individuals involved in filling in the current role. They will likely remember your rude behavior and carry it with them. This doesn’t just count for the company they work for now — it will apply for future stops in their career.

You Can Develop a Negative Reputation in Your Industry

News of your ghosting could spread past the small group of hiring personnel involved in this particular decision. It could get passed along the corporate grapevine as well.

In many industries, this doesn’t matter much. However, some types of jobs have a very narrow set of potential employers. In these situations, news of a ghosting can undermine your career.

You Destroy Potential Networking Opportunities

Besides the potential negative impacts we’ve outlined already, there’s an opportunity cost to ghosting as well. By cutting off communication with officials at the company, you also remove any chances of future networking. A potential contact is lost.

Imagine the following scenario: you turn down a role at a company, telling them that you are looking for something with more leadership potential. You do so in a way that maintains a constructive relationship with the hiring manager at the company. Down the line, this hiring manager hears of a leadership position at another company. They contact you to let you know of the opportunity.

It may seem like an outside chance that something like this will happen. However, these events do occur. Given the small investment in time that it takes to graciously end your candidacy for a job, there’s no reason to resort to ghosting.

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