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Ghosting is branding

When someone interviews with you, they’re forming an opinion about your company — whether they get the job or not. If they walk away feeling ignored, dismissed, or confused, they’ll remember. And they’ll talk.

In a world where candidates share their experiences in Slack communities, Glassdoor reviews, and LinkedIn posts, silence isn’t neutral — it’s negative. People don’t expect to get the job, but they do expect to be treated with respect.

Avoiding feedback doesn’t protect feelings. It just signals that your hiring process isn’t built on clarity, confidence, or care.

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The myth of legal risk

One of the most common reasons companies avoid feedback is fear of saying the wrong thing. “What if they challenge it?” “What if they get upset?” The result? Vague replies or nothing at all.

But structured, skill-based feedback isn’t risky. It’s powerful.

If you’ve built a hiring process around clearly defined criteria — and your team has taken notes tied to that — you can share feedback that’s useful, fair, and legally sound. Think:

➡️ “We were looking for experience leading product discovery from scratch — and while you showed strong delivery skills, we didn’t see enough evidence in that area.”

Not:

❌ “You didn’t seem like a good fit.”

See the difference?

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How to give feedback without overhauling your process

You don’t need a 3-paragraph rejection email for every candidate. You just need a few lines that show you were paying attention. Here’s how:

Automate the rest
Use tools like Google Sheets, templates, or your ATS to send feedback fast. Don’t rely on memory or good intentions.

Use structured scorecards
If your interviewers are writing down real signals during the process, feedback is just a quick summary of what’s already there.

Create a standard rejection format
A simple template with a few fill-in-the-blank fields (e.g. “What went well / What held them back”) works wonders.

Set expectations early
Tell candidates when and how they’ll get feedback — and stick to it. It builds trust and keeps your team accountable.

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This is where candidate experience really lives

Everyone talks about DEI, transparency, and being people-first. But when you avoid feedback, you’re telling candidates: “You weren’t worth the time.”

At RecruitMend, we believe feedback isn’t just a nice-to-have. It’s a signal that your process is intentional. That your decisions are based on something real. And that you actually respect the people taking time to engage with you.

If you’ve been ghosting candidates or dodging honest responses, here’s your permission to stop. Start small. Start structured. But just start.

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The RecruitMend approach

At RecruitMend, we help companies build hiring processes that are fast, fair, and human. That includes making structured feedback part of the norm — not an awkward afterthought. We believe clear feedback isn’t risky or time-consuming — it’s just good hiring hygiene. And when you get it right, you don’t just improve candidate experience — you strengthen your employer brand, reduce bias, and make better hiring decisions.

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Let’s talk about how we can reduce your time to hire and increase your offer acceptance rates – while delivering a candidate experience that sets you apart.