Photo: LinkedIn & Edmond Dantès / Pexels
She said she doesn't "have time" to tell candidates why they're a bad fit.
By Ethan Cotler — Written on Jun 07, 2023
In a LinkedIn post that stirred controversy, Karla Nagorsen, a seasoned talent acquisition professional, made waves with her candid opinion on job applicant ghosting.
Applying for a job is a difficult process. When people send their résumé and cover letter out to employers, many hope to at least get a response back whether they got the job or not. But it’s become increasingly common to be stuck in a sort of limbo as to whether their application was accepted.
The recruiter defended people in her industry who ‘ghost’ job applicants.
Karla Nagorsen has worked in talent acquisition for four years at iVantage Group. She posted to LinkedIn, which was subsequently shared on Reddit’s “r/LinkedInLunatics,” a subreddit for people to share those on LinkedIn who engage in “rampant virtue signaling” and stories that seem too good to be true.
Though, Nagorsen’s post was shared due to the controversial nature of her opinion. The poster sarcastically labeled it, “Can’t imagine why recruiters have a bad reputation!”
“Ghosted? You probably deserve it,” Nagorsen wrote.
Photo: Reddit
Nagorsen pointed out that recruiters shouldn’t shoulder all the blame for ghosting, asserting that sometimes the applicants themselves are to blame. In fact, she went as far as suggesting that some candidates were not just unfit for the job but rather undesirable individuals altogether.
“I don’t always have time to call and tell you all the reasons you are a bad candidate/human,” she continued.
She proceeded to share a personal anecdote that fueled her strong opinion. The incident involved a candidate who cited “health reasons” for resigning from a job after being placed on an assignment by Nagorsen.
Photo: cottonbro studio / Pexels
“I placed a candidate on an assignment- candidate called and needed to resign due to ‘health reasons,’” she wrote.
However, a critical error on the candidate’s part and a vigilant manager led to the exposure of their lie. It turned out that the candidate had used their work email to engage in negotiations with another company, which the manager discovered after they had already departed.
“After the candidate left, the Manager scanned through all emails- Manager sent me the email chain of the candidate negotiating an offer with a mother client (and staffing company),” she wrote.
To make matters worse, Nagorsen revealed that after failing to secure the other job, the candidate reached out to her company to regain their position. The audacious request only fueled Nagorsen’s frustration, prompting her to share her opinion on ghosting.
Following a wave of backlash, Nagorsen ultimately deleted her LinkedIn post, leaving the remaining details of the story obscured. The incident, however, catalyzed a heated debate on the ethics of ghosting in the job application process.
Photo: fizkes / Shutterstock
People called her out for a lack of 'empathy.'
One person on LinkedIn said it was “a bit harsh and lacking empathy, understanding, or grace” to say that some candidates “deserve” to be ghosted. On Reddit, a job recruiter weighed in on the debate.
“I have been a recruiter for a long time now and have dealt with the good and bad in the industry - candidates, clients and other recruiters. But venting about it on Social Media like LinkedIn is just immature,” they wrote.
Another person defended her, saying that it was a mistake to post it, but she didn’t deserve the harsh criticism.
“I’m 100% positive that every single one of us has had a long day, had a bad take, or had a short temper at some point that wouldn’t serve us well. She was just unfortunate enough to post it,” they wrote.
Photo: Reddit
Other people commented that a manager spying on a work email is a “breach of some security protocol.” However, according to a 2023 post from NOLO, a legal encyclopedia, it is legal for employers to go through their employee’s work emails as long as it pertains to a “valid business purpose.”
So, it would’ve been wiser for the candidate to use a personal email to contact the other company and not lie about the reasoning for resigning. But they don’t deserve to be called a bad human! Instead of blasting her opinion on LinkedIn, people suggested she should have more “empathy” and try to understand why the candidate would respond in this way. Maybe it’s something that needs to be changed within the company or how she communicates with candidates!
Ethan Cotler is a writer living in Boston. His writing covers entertainment, news and human interest stories.