Many internet users have virally shared their struggles to find and maintain jobs, especially in today’s job market.
While some applicants have posted stories about applying for hundreds of jobs and not hearing back, others have claimed that they were “ghosted” for interviews, or that they completed most of the hiring process, or were outright hired by a company only to have them stop responding to their messages.
Now, another internet user has sparked discussion after questioning whether a potential job was ghosting her.
When employers stop responding
In a video with over 1.9 million views as of Sunday, TikTok user Flo Erickson (@flogirlfinds) shares why she believed she was being “ghosted” by an employer.
According to her, she had just been hired at a new company, where she asked for the earliest start time possible. The reason for this, she says, is that an earlier start time means she’d be less likely to be caught in traffic on the way to her work, allowing her to spend less time on a commute.
While the employer had agreed to letting her start at 8am, Erickson says she’s filming the video from the parking lot at 8:23.
“I text the boss or whatever, who I’m supposed to be communicating with, and I say, you know, ‘Hey, I just wanted to confirm that I am supposed to be starting today. I’m here and no one’s here,’” Erickson recalls. “I sent that text at 8:01 and it’s 8:23 and I still have not heard back.”
Erickson claims that her fear of being ghosted by an employer is justified. As a matter of fact, she claims that it has happened to her in the past.
“In my earlier days of living here, I applied for a job. I went in for an interview. I went in for a second interview. I got the job, filled out all the paperwork for the job, gave them all of my information and then they ghosted me,” she says.
“When I say ‘ghosted me,’ I mean, like, I filled out all my paperwork and they were supposed to confirm my start date with me and I never heard back from them after that,” she adds. “I reached out to them two or three times and never got a message back from them.”
The video concludes with her questioning how long she should wait in the parking lot.
@flogirlfinds Am I being ghosted?? #newjob #storytime #partone #houstontexas ♬ Kawaii Aesthetic – LoES
Viewers say it’s common
In the comments section, several users claimed that they had experienced something similar.
“I got hired as an assistant to the ceo of a tech company. Got sent a computer. Got paid for my first two weeks even tho I didn’t work and haven’t heard much since,” said a user. “Still have the laptop.”
“This happened to my husband! They hired him then stopped answering his calls and texts,” offered another. “Both his manager and the hiring manager ghosted him and he had to contact head of HR to get a response.”
Thankfully, in Erickson’s case, it appears to have been a genuine mistake on the employer’s part, as she reveals in a follow-up video.
@flogirlfinds Part Two 😅 #ghosted #houstonjobs #whathappened #daddychill #whatthehelliseventhat ♬ original sound – flogirlfinds
Management reveals the mix-up
According to Erickson, she stayed for an hour in the parking lot before eventually deciding to leave.
Soon after, she received a call from the owner of the company, who claimed that there had simply been a “mix-up” on her part.
“She just forgot,” Erickson reveals. “She had lost her phone that morning. She was having trouble finding it, so that’s why she didn’t get back to me earlier.”
Erickson says that they agreed to have her start the following day.
Commenters were relieved by this resolution.
As one user put it, “So glad it worked out! Silver lining is that the owner will already have insight that you are gracious and flexible when needed.”
The Daily Dot reached out to Erickson via Instagram direct message.
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