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Ask HN: Ghosted After Job Offer

11 points by alban23 ↗ HN
Hi everyone, I have heard about being ghosted during the interview process, but not after getting an offer.

I got introduced to a Swiss company with US funding and roughly 30 employees through a mutual friend. We set up an interview with the CEO for a part-time job quite fast. I went to the office in Berlin, said ‘hi’ to the CEO and had the interview with the CTO (who is a co-founder) and also briefly spoke with the development lead.

A couple days later the CTO sent me a LinkedIn message with general conditions and said that it takes one day to draft the actual contract normally and that I could already start next week. I said that they can go ahead and draft the contract.

A couple days later I asked the CTO how things are going and if they need anything else for the contract as I haven’t heard anything. He replied that he is gonna ask.

Having heard nothing for another week, I decided to write to the development lead (who would have been my boss) and got no reply. Then, a bit later, I also wrote to the CEO who set up the interview. No reply either.

It’s been pretty almost three weeks now.

Have you experienced something like that? What would you do?

10 comments

[ 5.1 ms ] story [ 35.4 ms ] thread
AnimalMuppet
You may not have any option. They may not be responding because they may no longer have the email domain. The company may be dead.

If it's not dead, you still may not have a choice. You can't make them talk to you.

If they do eventually respond, I would be very cautious. If they're so out of control that they can't answer emails to get themselves some help, then you'd be walking into a really large amount of chaos if you take a job there.

partisan
I would assume it is not going to materialize and continue the job search. It could be nothing but the silence you are receiving from all parties makes me think the position is no longer yours. Don’t torture yourself by trying to figure out why.
navyad
I would suggest to forget about it and continue your search.
Copenjin
They clearly don't even care, ignore them and start searching for something else. Keeping in touch in the last phases of hiring is not that hard. Avoid like plague.
JSeymourATL
> Have you experienced something like that?

Yes, it happens more often than you think.

Impossible to know for certain what’s happening on their end—- it could be interpersonal politics, funding problems, or some other fire.

While it may be hard to appreciate now—- they may have just done you a huge favor. Better to see how they act now than later as an employee.

So, move on.

Lots of promising startups out there. Only one of you.

atum47
that's one hell of an advice. I kinda need it to read that. thanks. :)
samfisher83
I have never been ghosted after a job offer, but I have just worked for really big companies. They usually don't do that.
gesman
Which field?

For example in Financial, Healthcare and Government - 4-6 months spent to sign paperwork is considered fast :)

Be patient. Casually look around. Likely they cannot get their heads out of their a..es due to bureaucracy and compliance

csorrell
Is it just me, or has ghosting interviewees become more common recently? I've joked about it being the hiring style of millenials, might be there's actually something to that. I absolutely hate it though. If someone has invested their time into the interview process, putting hours into coding test, technical interviews, etc. have the decency to check in with them afterwards and provide closure to what was considered an open possibility.