- The SF-86
- Posts
- The ghosting pandemic
The ghosting pandemic
and a Q3 market update

Together with
Welcome to the SF-86 (presented by STEM Solutions) – the only newsletter dedicated to bringing GovCon talent teams the latest insights from the front lines of the federal and cleared workforce.
In this issue we discuss:
👻 Signs you’re going to be ghosted
📈 Q3 market update

👻 They’re just not that into you…
Ghosting…we’ve all been there. You have the perfect candidate, they have been responsive the whole process, very agreeable, and aced every interview. Your customer is now excited about them and you can’t get the offer out the door soon enough. Then poof…nothing. They vanish.
How can you save yourself and your team the time investment of a full interview process? Not to mention the aggravation your customer is inevitably going to have for you once you tell them the great candidate you had locked up has disappeared? Here are 3 things you can do to build the relationship with candidates, and identify any pitfalls that may arise during the hiring process:
Pick up the phone! Once the initial screening call is complete, it is easy to rely solely on email and text to communicate with your candidates – but this leaves the door open for missed details. Call your candidates to discuss next steps and coordinate interviews throughout the process, this will give you a chance to gain a better read on the them and ask pre-closing or additional exploratory questions.
Beware of the “Yes-man”! If a candidate raises absolutely no objections, concerns, or does not ask any questions throughout the interview process; then you are likely just another number to them. When candidates show no interest in learning more about the details of a role, or make no effort to ensure the nuances of a position will fit into their life; it likely means they are just using your offer as leverage for another opportunity.
ABC! Always be closing. Continue to confirm the finer details with your candidates throughout the hiring process. Lock them down on salary multiple times, make sure they know exactly what their commute will look like, and ensure they vibed well with everyone on the team. The candidate should have as few reasons to reject an offer as possible, and it is your responsibility to alleviate any of these concerns prior to the offer stage. Don’t rely on your candidates to raise concerns on their own. Oversight of these small details will blow up a deal.
Following these steps will give you insight into candidate rationale, and help to spot a candidate who is not truly invested in your company before your valuable time gets wasted.
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📈 Pulse of the cleared talent market
2022 presented challenges to the cleared talent acquisition community not previously seen. Most candidates were receiving multiple offers, offers were being made after 30 minute phone screens, and bidding wars were erupting for non A-players.
2023 has continued to be a competitive market, but not carrying the same ferocity as 2022. Companies are drawing the line in the sand regarding salary, slowing down and putting more thought and evaluation into their interview processes, and candidates are not juggling as many competitive offers as they were a year ago.
A factor for this could be decreased competition from the commercial and big tech space for cleared talent, as tech layoffs and increased interest rates have made headlines this year. Companies are also taking less risks when hiring after being burned by bad hires in 2022.
If 2022 scared you away from certain talent markets or skillsets within the cleared space, this may be a good time to revisit some of those talents pools and reevaluate the market before we head into the late Q3/Q4 hiring surge.
STEM Solutions is proud to present this issue of the SF-86. STEM Solutions specializes in the recruitment of cleared professionals. The federal talent market is as competitive as it gets, and we’ll help you win by getting the best talent, faster. Schedule a time to speak with us today. **
📚 Continuing Education
As we discussed last issue, ClearanceJobs reports don’t miss. Check out this latest one on the state of the Security Clearance Process
An inspiring listen about Ed Swallows rise to the top
1440 is the daily newsletter helping 2M+ Americans stay informed—it’s news without motives, edited to be unbiased as humanly possible. Check it out here. **
Don’t let simple tasks like scheduling interviews delay your hiring process. Get the competitive edge and automate the interview scheduling process with Calendar.com.**
📰 In the News
We can all take a couple of notes form BAH, strategic hiring at its finest.
The tech bros have decided to trade flip-flops for lapels.
** - sponsored content And
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