BOO! We scared you.

BOO! WE SCARED YOU.

Happy Halloween! It's time to take a look at the things that spook us, including ghosting in the workplace.

GHOSTING, OTHER JOB CONCERNS THAT SPOOK WORKERS

Forget howling monsters or vampire attacks. More than half of U.S. job seekers are most spooked about being ghosted: that mysterious radio silence from a recruiter or hiring manager who had been in hot pursuit of the candidate.

"Our recent Halloween survey reveals the proliferation of 'ghosting' during the job search, which can frustratingly happen at any stage of the interview process," said Amanda Augustine, career expert for TopInterview, a network of expert career coaches based in New York City, in a statement about the findings.

Prepping well for the interview can help job seekers ward off being ghosted—and is a lot more effective than stockpiling garlands of garlic or piles of salt.

"Through preparation—basically 'doing your homework' on a potential employer in advance [of the interview]—job seekers can learn what job candidates, as well as current and former employees, are anonymously saying about the company and its interview practices to see if there's a documented history of ignoring applicants," Augustine added.

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GHOST JOBS HAUNT THE JOB ADS

"When a candidate doesn’t hear back from a company, they’re not necessarily being ghosted. Sometimes that job doesn’t actually exist, according to new research from StandOut CV, a CV resource company.

More than one-third of job postings for the 20 most in-demand positions in the United Kingdom are what StandOut CV called “ghost jobs.” This is a recruitment strategy in which companies — or the agencies finding talent for them — post fake job ads for their own benefit, often to create a pipeline of potential hires for future roles, explained Andrew Fennell, director of StandOut CV and a former recruiter.

While the practice is “fairly common,” it’s nothing new, Fennell told HR Dive.

“It’s coming to light a bit more these days. Job seekers are starting to get a bit more clued up on how companies operate this kind of stuff and are asking more questions,” Fennell said."

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