Turn up for an interview? We just couldn't be bothered, say a mind-blowing 93% of 18-24 year olds

• Half of respondents said that ‘ghosting’ on interview day was reasonable

Ghosting is a well-known irritation of the dating game but now young people are blanking firms who offer them interviews… and even jobs.

A survey found that the practice of cutting off contact and ignoring someone on a dating site without explanation has become common practice among job-hunters.

An astonishing eight in ten (79 per cent) of Generation Z and Millennial job-seekers – defined for the study as those aged 18 to 24 and 25 to 39 respectively – have engaged in ghosting in the past year.

An incredible 93 per cent of Generation Z job applicants said they had simply not turned up for an interview, with 14 per cent saying that they hadn’t been impressed with the company up to that point.

Nearly one in five of the Generation Z cohort said ghosting prospective employers was ’empowering’ and allowed them to take charge of their careers.

A mind-boggling 93 per cent of Generation Z job applicants admitted to ‘ghosting’ or not turning up for an interview, a survey found

Lord Sugar with series eight Apprentice winner Ricky Martin

Almost nine out of ten said they hadn’t shown up for their first day at work, and almost a quarter said they had walked out of a job without giving notice.

Millennials at least felt guilty about the practice, with one third admitting ghosting potential bosses had made them anxious, and two-thirds fearing it would have a bad impact on their future.

But overall, almost one third of both age groups said it is acceptable to ghost before an interview.

Exactly half said ghosting firms on interview day was reasonable because companies often don’t respond to job applications and fail to inform candidates if they have been unsuccessful.

In the survey, nine out of ten firms identified ghosting as a major problem, with 55 per cent saying it makes it more difficult to hire people. This phenomenon has been noticed by Ricky Martin, winner of the BBC TV show The Apprentice in 2012.

Several times a year, his company holds assessment days for graduates hoping to join his business, he says, but that ‘an increasing percentage of those who have accepted an invitation simply don’t turn up’.

He added: ‘It’s a vast shift from the world I grew up in,’ adding: ‘I got my first job at 13 delivering papers, and by 16 was earning £2.97 an hour at my local Budgens.

‘Some of the work was a dull slog, but I never questioned the need for it: the effort was part of the path to success. Twenty years later, I struggle to see the same attitude among this new crop.

Exactly half of respondents said ghosting firms on interview day was reasonable because companies often don’t respond to job applications and fail to inform candidates if they have been unsuccessful

‘While many young people I recruit are dedicated and enthusiastic, their focus has changed.

‘However keen, they arrive at interview – if they turn up – asking what my company can do for them rather than what they can offer. No doubt youngsters see influencers on social media working from a beach, and believe they should be able to do the same.’

For the study, recruitment platform Indeed asked 1,500 firms and 1,500 adults if ghosting had become common practice in hiring new employees. Danny Stacy, Indeed’s UK Head of Talent Intelligence, said: ‘It’s clear that ghosting has become an unwelcome phenomenon for employers.’

He added: ‘Workers point to being ghosted by employers as a reason to be able to do the same, so businesses have a clear directive to keep up communication on their end during the hiring process.’

Last week, a leading employment lawyer said apathy and mental illness in young people was meaning many do not turn up for work. Nick Hurley, of Charles Russell Speechlys, said his firm had seen the number of businesses seeking advice about unexplained absences more than triple since Covid.

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