Gen Z is ghosting employers

While it’s long been known that employers are ghosting job applicants during the hiring process, job seekers are also doing their fair share of disappearing during the job hunt. Newsweek spoke to four experts about what’s behind this trend.

A new report from Number Barn showed the extent to which applicants were in turn ghosting potential employers and found this was especially common among younger generations. Roughly 41 percent of Gen Z job seekers admitted to ghosting a potential employer, while 37 percent of millennials said the same.

Why It Matters

Gen Z makes up those aged 13 to 28, and the newer generation is primed to shape the workforce as they become a more prominent part of it by 2030.

So far, Gen Z has sparked major change in companies, pushing for greater work life balance and hiring salaries despite some hiring managers’ dissatisfaction.

A recent Intelligent.com survey found a whopping six in 10 employers had already fired college graduates who were hired in 2024. And one in seven said they might refrain from hiring new college grads next year as well, showing a reluctance toward taking a chance on Gen Z employees.

What To Know

A little more than four in 10 Gen Z job seekers said they had ghosted a potential employer, while 37 percent of millennials did the same, according to the Number Barn survey.

Only 26 and 22 percent of Gen X and Baby Boomers had done the same. Across the board, 35 percent said they had ghosted a company during the hiring process.

The report, based on responses from 1,500 residents of the 30 largest metropolitan areas in the U.S., revealed the cities with the highest rates of ghosting included Washington, D.C., Tampa, San Francisco, Austin, and Las Vegas.

Ghosting can apply to potential romantic partners as well as friends and companies looking to hire.

In dating, 75 percent of singles admitted they’ve been ghosted by someone they were dating or chatting with on a dating app.

Across the U.S., Americans tended to consider themselves ghosted if they had reached out three times or more without a response or explanation.

What People Are Saying

HR consultant Bryan Driscoll told Newsweek: “Gen Z isn’t ghosting employers out of nowhere. Employers have been ghosting candidates for decades. This just gives employers a taste of their own medicine. I don’t necessarily agree with the approach from either party, but I do understand it.”

He added: “Companies have long operated under the assumption that job seekers should be grateful for any opportunity, stringing them along with endless interviews, unpaid work, vague timelines, and radio silence when they decide to move on. Now that younger workers have more options and power, they’re not tolerating that treatment.”

Alex Beene, a financial literacy instructor for the University of Tennessee at Martin, told Newsweek: “When it comes to Gen Z, personal and professional lives get blurred quite easily, and this is creating some real headaches in the hiring process. Much like someone they’re dating who they no longer want to connect with, Gen Z has been known to handle their early interactions with employers by ghosting them if they feel the position offered doesn’t fit their skills and interests or perhaps the pay package discussed isn’t one they deem sufficient. The issue with handling job hunts this way is it’s an easy way to close a door that could be open in the future.”

Kevin Thompson, a finance expert and the founder and CEO of 9i Capital Group, told Newsweek: “As an employer, I find this trend both deeply disturbing and entirely understandable. Younger generations have grown distrustful of corporations—not by choice, but by experience. Many came of age during the Occupy Wall Street movement and witnessed firsthand how their parents were treated by former employers.”

Michael Ryan, a finance expert and the founder of MichaelRyanMoney.com, told Newsweek: “When you’re used to swiping away from conversations or muting notifications, it becomes so much easier to just… disappear from a professional interaction too… I think my generation would feel anxious after ghosting. And worry that it will negatively affect future job opportunities. But for Gen Z ghosting employers, especially on the first day. It’s their way of feeling in charge of their careers in a way.”

What Happens Next

The companies that build genuine relationships with job candidates and offer competitive roles are unlikely to experience the ghosting problem, Driscoll said.

“The businesses struggling with ghosting are the ones treating hiring like a one-sided transaction, failing to respect job seekers’ time, and expecting loyalty without returning the favor,” Driscoll said.

“If anything, this shift reflects a growing rejection of outdated workplace norms. Younger workers know their worth, and they aren’t afraid to walk away from jobs that don’t meet their expectations. Instead of blaming Gen Z, companies should take this as a wake-up call. If they want candidates to engage, start treating them like people.”