# The Dark Psychology of Job Ghosting

- **Episode:** [184](https://agents.truthliesandwork.com/episodes/184.md) (2025-04-01)
- **Type:** news-roundup
- **Tags:** job ghosting, recruitment, candidate experience, psychology
- **Time:** 15:13–20:40 (start 913s)
- **Listen:** [https://truthliesandwork.com/184?t=913](https://truthliesandwork.com/184?t=913)

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[15:13] Al Elliott: We talked about this about 6 weeks ago. I think I was coming up with this idea of, and there was a, was there a particular term for it back then? Did we come up with this term?
[15:21] Leanne Elliott: Was it not job ghosting?
[15:22] Al Elliott: Maybe it was just job ghosting. I can't remember. We, so many new words. Talk to us. So let's assume that nobody knows what job ghosting is
[15:29] Leanne Elliott: So job ghosting can work both ways. It's either where the candidate ceases all communication with the employer or the other way around without any notice. So the same that you'd ghost somebody that you're dating, like you just go dark, don't reply to their messages, you never hear from them again. Job ghosting has been on the rise and it's got the attention of some psychologists and there is now some new research that tells us that the reason why people ghost might be a bit darker than we want to think
[16:00] Al Elliott: Really?
[16:01] Leanne Elliott: Really. So I'm sure this sounds familiar. Everyone's been ghosted, I think. Um, you're not, you're not alone, you're not imagining it. And as I said, it is going up, and let's be honest, it is driving a lot of hiring managers mad, and candidates as well. So according to this new research, this might not just be a case of flakiness or bad manners on either party, but, you know, we're talking about really the applicant here. There could be psychological patterns behind why some candidates disappear. So this study was in the Journal of Occupational and Organisational Psychology and looked into this exact behaviour. So the researchers found that ghosting is often linked to certain personality traits, especially ones from the so-called Dark Triad. Now, the Dark Triad may sound like some kind of Marvel villain, but actually it's a real psychological model, um, and a well-studied one. It includes 3 main traits, hence a triad: narcissism— that's an inflated self-importance and entitlement. I can never say this word, Al, so you're gonna have to bear with me— Machiavellianism
[17:04] Al Elliott: I think that's right
[17:07] Leanne Elliott: Machiavellianism. Machiavellianism. You just need to run up to it, you know, um, which is cynicism, manipulation, and strategic deceit. And psychopathy, impulsivity, low empathy, and disregard for others. It is this last one, psychopathy, that has turned out to be the strongest predictor of ghosting. So the researchers surveyed over 200 job seekers and tracked whether they ghosted a potential employer during the recruitment process, meaning no-shows for interviews, disappearing mid-process, or going radio silent after receiving an offer. This is what they found: psychopathy was the most consistent predictor of ghosting. We're talking about people who are impulsive, low in empathy, and not particularly concerned about how their actions affect others, these candidates were far more likely to vanish without any kind of explanation. The next thing was FOMO. Al, you know what FOMO is?
[17:59] Al Elliott: Fear of missing out
[18:00] Leanne Elliott: Fear of missing out, also a big factor. So these candidates tend to keep their options open and are more likely to ghost if something shinier comes along. And finally, low self-control. On its own, not a big predictor, but if somebody has already been ghosted by an employer and they struggle with self-control, then that combination made them much more likely to ghost in return. So it's basically that, well, they did it first to me kind of thing, tit for tat. So while personality does matter, it's not the whole story. Ghosting isn't just about who people are, it's also shaped by how, how they've been treated during the hiring process
[18:40] Al Elliott: Interesting. So now you know if you've ever been ghosted or been been a ghoster or a ghostee, then perhaps take a long, hard look at yourself and say, yeah, what have you got? This candidate experience, I think we need to come back to that, Leanne. I think we need to do an entire episode on that. So we need to— so if you're listening and you know someone would be a great guest to talk about candidate experience, then we want them on. We want them on. Okay, so after this very, very short break, we're gonna be back with a hot take from an organizational psychologist who has advice for leaders who think technology is coming to save us. And of course, we have our world-famous Weekly Workplace Surgery, where I put all your questions to Leanne. See you in a second
[20:28] John Chan: It can
[20:32] John Chan: I am
[20:36] Leanne Elliott: But come back
[20:37] Al Elliott: Yeah, come back. Definitely come back because Nudge isn't as good as this
[20:40] John Chan: So come back
[20:40] Al Elliott: I'll cut that out. Keep that in