Most job seekers say they've been ghosted or ‘love-bombed' during interviews—it can make them ‘question their career and sanity'

Debra Boggs helps executive-level leaders get hired, but even they're not safe from frustrating experiences.

Boggs, founder and CEO of D&S Executive Career Management, once had a candidate interviewing for a vice president-level role. He'd gone through a few rounds of discussions and was feeling good about things overall. So when he was invited in for a follow-up interview onsite, he took it as a promising sign and was eager to make the trek — even though it was a three-hour commute.

His optimism didn't last. "The hiring manager was late to the interview, and then only gave him half an hour of his time," Boggs tells CNBC Make It.

The dramatic shift in respect for his time and efforts "was a real red flag," Boggs says. The candidate rescinded his candidacy. "There were some other red flags that came up during the process, but I said, 'This is the best they're ever going to offer you in terms of respect.'"

Stories of job-seekers making progress on their search, only to have the rug pulled out from under them later in the hiring process, have become all too common.

A majority of job-seekers say they've experienced "love-bombing" or been ghosted during the interview process for a new role, according to a recent survey of 2,900 global employees by Greenhouse, the hiring platform.

Some 53% of job-seekers say they've been love-bombed by recruiters and hiring managers, meaning they've received excessive praise and flattery during the hiring process — only to be passed over for the role, or lowballed with a salary and title that didn't match their qualifications, skills and experience, according to the report.

A similar share, 52%, say they've been ghosted in the hiring process, or had initial conversations, and in some cases made it to final rounds of interviews, only to never hear back from the recruiter or hiring manager about a decision.

Such experiences are the "No. 1 frustration in the market" for job-seekers, says Terry Petzold, managing partner at Fox Search Group, an executive search firm for tech leaders.

"What I'm seeing across the board is a major systems and processes issue of companies not getting feedback back to candidates," Petzold says. "Because of that, it's leaving people in a really confusing spot and giving folks anxiety and questioning, frankly, their career and their sanity."

Why companies 'love-bomb' prospective employees

Sending job-seekers mixed signals, such as love-bombing, could be the result of companies that want to hire quickly but don't know exactly what role they need to fill.

It's common when businesses don't spend as much money to hire, like in today's market. In those cases, Petzold says, companies "tend to cram one, two or three positions into one."

As a result, "companies have been way too selective and, frankly, push too hard to get the exact person they want on paper for what they want at that time," Petzold says. "What's funny is, a lot of companies don't need that person six months from now. They just need it now, but most hiring is taking at least a quarter or two, especially if you're an executive."

By the time hiring managers realize what specific skills and objectives their new hire should have, it could be entirely different from what they envisioned at the beginning of their candidate search. Job-seekers at the end of the process might feel whiplash when they learn they're no longer the top person for the role.

"They get that love bomb, everyone's excited, and then no email," Petzold says.

It's a serious issue, he adds: "Companies care so much about their customer experience, but we're not thinking about our employees and future employees."

One candidate's bad experience could have a ripple effect on the friends, family members or social media followers who catch wind of their story. "People can damage the reputation of companies because they're being treated horribly," Petzold says.

Employers may not aim to love-bomb their prospective employees, says Jon Stross, president and co-founder of Greenhouse, adding that it's important for job-seekers to keep in mind the role that recruiters play.

A recruiter's job is "to see the best in you" and "pump you up and keep you on the hook," Stross says. "That's not bad. They're not doing it with usually ill intent. They usually are legitimately enthusiastic about you."

That said, "they're not the ultimate decision-maker," he continues. "You have to recognize that just because one person is gassing you up, it doesn't mean that you're about to get the job. You still have to convince everybody else" that you're the best candidate.

'Trust your gut on those red flags'

It's up to you to decide whether a bad hiring experience is a deal-breaker from pursuing other roles with the company later. "There's a world where they open up a similar role and say, 'We're going to call you first,'" says Stross. "So generally, I always want to leave with good karma and keep a door open."

But keep in mind that during the hiring process, companies "are trying to attract you, so they're putting their best foot forward," says Boggs. "If any red flags come up during the interview, or something doesn't feel right, you have to remember to compound that with the fact that they are on their absolute best behavior."

Ultimately, she says, "if you feel like you know things are disorganized in the hiring process, or you're getting conflicting information from different people, things like that are all indications of maybe a dysfunctional culture that are going to only be exacerbated when you're actually internal. Trust your gut on those red flags."

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