I know this will sound like I’m the “get off the grass” guy. I also know this won’t likely reach the people who need to hear this, but this ghosting thing is really frustrating to me. Have a problem, don’t want to deal with something? Just hide. Don’t respond. Ghost someone.

When I was hiring people regularly, anyone that was personally interviewed, I called to let them know they were not selected. They weren’t always comfortable or easy calls. My thought was the candidate who took the time to come for an interview was owed a personal call. Now, it’s hard to get a letter or email that a position has been filled. They just ghost the applicants.

I serve on a local nonprofit. We asked a younger person to consider serving on our board. We exchanged emails, did a Zoom call to inform them about expectations, answered questions, and gauged their interest. Then this person ghosted us, they would not respond to repeated emails or calls. There are A LOT of reasons to not accept a board position – not the right time, too busy, not the right fit, etc. But ghosting us was lame.

We tried to get a business to serve at an event. Despite repeated contacts, they didn’t respond. We thought the business was probably closed, but through a mutual contact, we found out the business was still functioning. They simply hadn’t found the time to respond to us. Really?

Why do businesses that schedule appointments send an annoying number of reminders? Because they get ghosted. People just don’t show up.

My message is simple. Grow the hell up.
Do hard things. Have uncomfortable conversations.
Ghosting is weak sauce.