‘Five interviews, no response’: A job seeker’s Reddit post about being ghosted hits close to home

One frustrated job seeker took to Reddit to vent about being ghosted by a company after completing five rounds of interviews. According to the post, the hiring manager told the candidate that the offer would be sent “soon” — only to be silently interviewed over the radio for the next three weeks.

Despite multiple follow-ups, the only response received was an automated message stating that the company was “reviewing candidates.”

“I’ve had five rounds of interviews with this company. The hiring manager literally said on the last call: ‘We’ll be sending you an offer soon.’ Then nothing. No email, no update, just silence. That was three weeks ago. I’ve followed up twice, and the only response I got was an automated message saying ‘We’re reviewing candidates.'” “I’m so tired of how normal this is,” the user wrote. The post: “The amount of emotional energy it takes to prepare, stay optimistic, and then get ghosted is brutal.”

The post resonated with hundreds of users who shared similar experiences, pointing to the growing trend of “shadow interviews” in the corporate world – where candidates are left without any closure after multiple rounds of interviews.

Many commentators claimed that simply saying “we went in another direction” would be a basic compliment.

As one user said, “Five??? is not good. I was appalled after three when I was told ‘the role is no longer offered and will be replaced by a new role once the company’s needs are determined’. Wasting a candidate’s time is outrageous.”

One user commented: “Ah, this is the worst. It happened to me once after months of interviews and it ruined my motivation a little. It’s weird how normal it has become, as if we’re not people anymore, just ‘applicants’.”

A third user wrote: “Any kind of compliment or saying an offer is on the way is inappropriate and a warning sign. An offer is only there when it is made. Never believe compliments, it’s the kiss of death. The best way to do this is to move on. Keep looking, this is lame. It’s an enterprise market and more like a gaming market IMO.”

A fourth user commented: “Call the recruiter directly! I did the same thing when I was in a similar situation. I didn’t get selected, but honestly, it helped my mental health.”