Pretty sure that most of us have experienced gaslighting at some time. The friend who called you every week suddenly does not return your calls or the family member who cancels plans at the last minute for no apparent reason.
Unfortunately, gaslighting seems to be an emerging trend in the employment field right now. Candidates failing to show up at scheduled interviews was once an extremely rare occurrence and was met with grave concern for the welfare of that candidate (still is). Although today, in a very dynamic employment market, it has become a far more frequent experience than one would ever have imagined.
Recruiters have no issue with candidates withdrawing from an interview because they have been offered and accepted another role. They are a good candidate – that is exactly the reason they were presented and obviously so did somebody else! The concerning trend comes with candidates who withdraw by text message in the hour prior to an interview, or worse, simply do not show up at all.
While many may say this is poetic justice for the recruitment industry, with complaints from candidates about being left in the dark about their applications. Most recruiters are not only professional, but spend considerable time investing in presenting their candidates to the best possible advantage. The question of scale is also relevant, with one recruiter needing to manage communication to 100s of candidates for any one role.
A candidate who gaslights a recruiter or employer has far more to lose than just the job in question. By not attending an interview, the chances for that role being altered to fit your talents disappears, along with it the chance to be considered for any future role. Put simply, you may not get the chance to let a recruiter or business down a second time.