By Thomas Sheffield
Ghosting is a dating trend where one of the people involved cuts off all communication with the other, leaving them without closure. This can be emotionally taxing as the ghostee has questions unanswered as to why and there is no reason given for the cut off. CNN ran a story on how the job market is so good, new hires aren’t showing up for the first day of work. This is commonly called ghosting a job. The theory is the employee has multiple job offers and picks the one that either pays more, has better hours, better benefits or is a better fit to their needs. This is easy to understand. Many employers fail to make their jobs attractive to younger employees. However, ghosting works the other way too.
Customers keep businesses in business but employees keep companies running. Good jobs are hard to find but great employees are even harder to find. Prospective employees have had instances when employers fail to notify them they are no longer under consideration for a position. I have personally applied for multiple positions of which I was qualified, interviewed and never heard back. I have had friends and family members to attend job fairs and interviews with temp agencies never to hear from the employers again. I have had friends and relatives use multiple web sites, email addresses and resumes to land a perfect job only to be declined. Web sites advise to change your resume to fit the jobs you are applying for but while adjustments are made, the position is no longer available. HR managers do not see resumes because they lack key words.There is a disconnect.
The first quarter of 2019 showed African American worker unemployment rate was at 6.7%. This is the highest rate of any ethnic group. Hispanic unemployment was at 4.7% and Asian and white workers were both at 3.1%. Tennessee is the state with the lowest black unemployment rate of 4.9%. Black workers are employed by a variety of occupations. 13.8% of African Americans make up 11.7% of the populations office and administrative support occupations. These occupations are projected to have the largest number of occupational openings annually.
The question is: what are these employers doing to make their job offers more attractive? Are your HR departments staffed by HR professionals who are qualified to discern qualified candidates? Are you paying a livable wage? Are you offering benefits or flextime? Do you micromanage? Do you value and pay based on education and experience? Do you offer equal work for equal pay for employees regardless of age, race or sex? Did you ghost other candidates?
It’s obvious the labor issues work both ways. Employers must do a better job of hiring and keeping their employees. Employers should hire certified HR professionals to find and offer good employment packages. Employees should keep their commitments to their word because when they don’t, they are effecting those of us who are willing to work hard to make a sustainable future.
Feel free to contact me directly at thomsustainableconsulting@gmail.com or follow me on Twitter @tcsheff.
