Why: the problem that wouldn't leave me alone

It wasn't one single experience that sparked the idea. It was the accumulation of a thousand small frustrations. My own, but also those of friends, colleagues and strangers on LinkedIn who wrote openly about application processes that simply vanished into thin air.

Companies demand complete applications from candidates, cover letters, sometimes multi-stage tests and assessment centres. And then? Silence. Weeks pass. Sometimes months. No feedback, no rejection, no response. Just nothing.

The problem has a name: ghosting. And it is not a fringe phenomenon. It is the norm. According to analysis by the Human Capital Institute, 75% of all applicants receive no response at all. The Greenhouse 2024 State of Job Hunting Report found that 61% of candidates were ghosted after a job interview. A rise of 9 percentage points since early 2024 alone.

Sources: Human Capital Institute; Greenhouse State of Job Hunting Report 2024 (2,500 respondents across US, UK and Germany)

What bothered me most: there are no consequences. No public ranking, no visibility, no pressure on companies that simply leave applicants hanging. Glassdoor and similar platforms cover company culture. The specific problem of application feedback? Still unsolved.

"Why is there no platform that shows how long companies take to give feedback?" That thought never left me.

How: Real People. Real Feedback.

Ghosted.Global works in the simplest possible way. Applicants anonymously enter which company they applied to, when they applied and when they received feedback. Or whether they received any feedback at all.

The platform aggregates this data and shows for each company:

  • The average time to first feedback
  • The ghosting rate: how many applicants receive no response at all
  • The trend over time: is a company improving or getting worse?
  • The industry comparison: how does the company stack up against competitors?

No account. No mandatory email. Fully anonymous. That was important to me from the start. Because only when the barrier to entry is as low as possible do you get honest, representative data.

The platform is deliberately built with data minimisation in mind. We do not collect unnecessary data. What we do not need we do not store. This is not just a GDPR requirement. It is a question of fundamental values.

What's next: the roadmap

Ghosted.Global is still in its early days. The launch in May 2026 is just the beginning. Here is what is coming next:

  • More data: The more applicants participate the more meaningful the rankings become. The target for 2026: 1,000 genuine reviews.
  • Monthly Ghosting Reports: Which industries ghost the most? Which companies have improved? These reports should create real pressure and real transparency.
  • Employer branding for the good ones: Companies that communicate quickly and fairly should be able to show it. A "Top Feedback Employer" badge that actually means something.
  • International expansion: Ghosting is not a German problem. The platform has been available in English from day one and should become a global tool over time.

One final ask

Ghosted.Global lives and breathes through you. Every review you submit makes the platform more valuable for everyone who comes after you and wants to know what they are getting into. It takes less than two minutes. No account, no email, no hassle.

If you have recently applied somewhere or had a recent experience: share it. Anonymously. Honestly. For everyone.