A recruiter contacted me to schedule an interview. I took the time to prepare, cleared my schedule, and showed up early and ready to have a thoughtful conversation. They never showed up. I waited, followed up afterward, and got a templated message saying they’d gone with another candidate. I wasn’t even given the courtesy of a conversation. If they had changed direction, that would have been fine. To completely ghost a candidate after initiating contact is unprofessional and shows a lack of respect for people’s time and effort. We talk a lot about candidate experience, but this wasn’t it.