As candidates face poor hiring practices, a majority, 70%, believe a lack of communication in the hiring process is the biggest red flag, according to a survey by hiring software company Greenhouse.

Other warning signs include a negative interview experience, 57%; companies avoiding pay-related questions, 55%; and vague job descriptions, 55%.

“The results show that many candidates face discrimination, poor interview practices and a lack of human connection in the hiring process,” Ariana Moon, head of talent planning and acquisition at Greenhouse, said in a press release. “Companies have work to do to ensure they’re not asking invasive, illegal questions that discriminate against candidates. Protected classes like your age and race shouldn't be contributing factors to whether you get a job offer, in any way.”

The study also found that poor interview and hiring practices cause job seekers to abandon the process, with 36% reporting ghosting employers during the hiring process.

The top reasons for ghosting include the company being different than expectations and poor interview experiences, both cited by 43% of survey participants.

Discriminatory and illegal questions in the interview process are all too common, affecting candidates and companies. Nearly 34% of candidates have experienced such interview questions, with the most common questions focused on age, 34%; race, 28%; and gender, 24%. 

Other common discriminatory questions revolved around marital status, religion, ability status, parental status, national origin, weight, sexuality, pregnancy and genetic information.

Furthermore, 30% of job seekers believe they have been rejected due to their age, while 39% experienced negative outcomes for résumé gaps.

Nineteen percent of job seekers have changed their names on job applications or résumés to prevent discriminatory assumptions about them. Among these, 45% have altered their names to sound less ethnic, 42% to sound younger, and 22% to sound like the opposite gender.

The study also found that while automated pre-screening interviews are on the rise, 42% of workers who completed them disliked them.

Another important finding: 24% of candidates are turning to TikTok for job-seeking advice, and 57% would use white font on their résumé to increase their visibility.

“While it’s understandable that candidates are using tactics such as white font, the reality is that many companies don’t automatically filter out candidates that don’t have a keyword in their résumé,” Moon said. “Candidates have a better chance at meaningful engagement with an employer if they reach out directly to recruiters. This can happen in a variety of ways — through surfacing a shared contact, making a personal connection during an event, reaching out through social media platforms like LinkedIn and even Instagram and TikTok.”

The survey includes responses from 1,200 US-based employees, with 50% of respondents from historically underrepresented groups.