At the moment, the UK jobs market is probably the most competitive as it has been at any time in history. The Office of National Statistics recently reported that there are more job vacancies than there are unemployed in the country. It’s a candidate’s marketing and employers are having to compete for talent. Many candidates are well aware of this and applying for multiple positions at the same time.
Post-pandemic, and during the time of the Great Resignation, people feel empowered to walk away from existing positions or reject new ones that they feel aren’t entirely right for them.
Although reneging is nothing new and plenty of people in more senior positions have turned down job offers in favour of alternative roles, emerging research indicates that younger people are more likely to renege and ghosting does seem to be a younger cohort behaviour.
Many HR experts are citing factors such as the wide availability of roles in the current market and a failure to engage candidates during the recruitment process. It’s also important to note that some younger people simply don’t know how to cope if they receive multiple offers and want to avoid uncomfortable conversations with the employers they are rejecting.