One of the biggest problems affecting the recruitment industry today is “Ghosting”.

The thing about this particular problem of professional ghosting, however, is that it hurts the candidate far more than the recruiter; the recruiter will simply move on to another candidate who will receive the spoils of a new, fantastic job, while you, the ghoster, are forgotten and now effectively ghosted yourself, reaping what you’ve sewn.

Recruiters have access to a cache key hiring authorities, and so maintaining a working relationship with your recruiter is essential. Like most relationships, keeping in touch with a recruiter will be beneficial and eventually pay off when the sky falls, and in life, if there’s one thing we mortgage-paying adults know, is that the wolf is always at the door. Unforeseen events, sometimes catastrophic, catch up to us. You may be doing well for a while, going along, riding a major waveThe h when suddenly, it crashes and takes you with it. Like Frankie sang, that’s life! So, it’s best to always have a call-to-action plan, and that plan involves keeping your recruiter close and on speed dial.

With Ghosting, the desired result is that the person you’re ghosting will get the hint and move on, and while this result might be appreciated in a romantic relationship, you won’t be so thrilled when, in your hour of need, you find your recruiter has forgotten all about you.

Business is a fickle mistress, my friend, and that means you may find yourself out of a job – and out of a recruiter who might have moved you to the front of the line and made some serious, noteworthy phone calls to the powers-that-be on your behalf if only you had exercised some professionalism and treated that particular relationship with a modicum of respect.

The social media age has devastated our code of conduct in this way by generating the illusion that dropping someone without a second thought is considered normal, or “okay” behavior; everybody does it, don’t they? No. Not those individuals who know how important it is to network and refresh those lifelines periodically so that they have a powerful friend on a rainy day.

The younger generation is especially guilty of this behavior, as the older generations remember how business was done in the golden age of good manners. Many of us have had it negatively reaffirmed that unceremoniously forgetting about someone is “acceptable” because we’ve gotten used to holding relationships via a screen, making people seem impersonal to the point of treating each other rudely.

So why should it seem like a big deal if you ignore the business relationship you’ve built with your recruiter? They understand how things are done in the internet age, don’t they? If a call goes unreturned, or an email unanswered, they understand it’s because you don’t need them anymore, and it’s all good. Well, no, it isn’t. At least it’s not all good for you. Your recruiter, however, will rebound and find someone to take your place.