Ghosted at work: Graduates facing a silent job market says former top City lawyer

Thought ghosting was just for dating? Think again. In today’s job market—arguably one of the toughest in modern times — ghosting is fast becoming the norm for young job seekers.

Graduates, many with top degrees, are sending out hundreds of job applications, only to be met with stone cold radio silence. No rejections. No feedback. Just a disappearing act from prospective employers, in many cases even after securing an interview. And it’s not just disheartening—it’s damaging, says Tom Pauk, Finito Education’s senior mentor.

Founded by communications expert Ronel Lehmann in 2016, Finito is a coaching and mentoring business, which supports first-time job hunters making the transition from education to employment, as well as established professionals seeking a career change.

Get The Jewish News Daily Edition by email and never miss our top stories Free Sign Up

Pauk, a former City lawyer, explains: “It’s a perfect storm.

“The traditional routes for newly-qualified grads to white collar jobs are shrinking. It’s not just about having a 1st or upper class second degree, which 20 years ago would have been a shoe-in. This is the context we are working in and it’s very challenging.

“Unsurprisingly, this all leads to loss of morale and energy among candidates. Sadly, ghosting is now par for the course.”

Pauk’s own career path took him to Allen & Overy (now A&O Shearman) where he spent seven years before going in-house at Citigroup. Tom left the law in 2015 for a mid-life pivot into playwriting, to build a professional mentoring practice, and volunteer in the areas of mental health, dementia and criminal justice.

As Finito’s senior mentor, Pauk is passionate about helping young people. Finito, which also runs A bursary programme to support jobseekers—assists its candidates in trying to find their footing in a broken system.

So, what’s gone wrong? AI for starters. “Ironically, candidates are using AI to apply for jobs—and then getting rejected by AI,” says Pauk. “No human is involved in the whole process. So not only are the applications generic and unauthentic, but they’re being filtered out by software before anyone reads them.

“Employers want authenticity. They can smell a ChatGPT cover letter a mile off.”

And the irony doesn’t end there. AI isn’t just rejecting candidates—it’s replacing them. “Much of what I did as a trainee lawyer is now done by AI. Firms simply don’t need the volume of junior hires anymore. That’s true not just in law, but in other professions including accountancy and HR, which have been hit particularly hard.”

Many major graduate schemes are contracting. According to reports, graduate roles have fallen to their “weakest level” since 2018. KPMG, for instance, is said to have reduced its graduate cohort by 29 per cent, from 1,399 in 2023 to 942 last year, while Deloitte’s graduate recruitment has fallen by 18 per cent, with 1,700 graduates hired in 2023 compared with only 1,400 in 2024. EY and PwC have followed suit, reducing their graduate hiring by 11 per cent and 6 per cent respectively. Traditional white-collar entry points are narrowing fast, yet graduate numbers remain high.

“These statistics are very sobering.”

Unemployment is now at its highest level since the pandemic, climbing to 4.7% in the three months to May—marking the weakest labour market since mid‑2021 at the time of writing.

Beyond the numbers, Pauk is concerned about the emotional toll. “The constant rejection is extremely damaging for people’s self-esteem. Candidates are left questioning their worth. That’s why mentoring is so crucial right now. Not just for career strategy, but for mental resilience.”

Pauk has also returned to A&O Shearman in a mentoring capacity. Particularly passionate about mental health, Pauk is a shift supervisor at The Listening Place, a charity offering face-to-face support for those who feel life is no longer worth living. He is a trustee of the young offenders mentoring charity Trailblazers Mentoring, and has recently been appointed to the board of Cambridge Nightline, a new helpline that supports students of Cambridge and Anglia Ruskin Universities.

Pauk and Lehmann met at school with their paths crossing several times since. Prior to launching Finito, Lehmann had a distinguished career in the City with stints as a recruitment consultant, stockbroker, and public relations adviser with the IPS Group, Citicorp Scrimgeour Vickers, McAvoy Wreford Bayley and Citigate Dewe Rogerson, before setting up his eponymously named marketing agency, which he ran for 26 years.

Lehmann frequently appears in the news and as a media commentator. During lockdown, he launched Finito World magazine and The Employability News Channel.

While the average Finito mentee is between 21 and 25, the fastest-growing demographics are in their 30s, 40s and even 50s. “We’re seeing candidates who haven’t interviewed since their twenties. Maybe their roles have been made redundant, or they’ve hit a point in life where they’re asking: is there more than this?”

Rather than finding a like-for-like replacement job, Pauk says that SOME senior candidates are recalibrating—pursuing non-executive director roles, charity trusteeships, or portfolio careers with greater purpose.

“The idea of a job for life is gone,” says Pauk. “Young people, in particular, are waking up to this. They value work-life balance. They’re willing to leave a job to go travelling, or switch paths entirely. And that’s a good thing.”

Pauk’s advice for job seekers:

•  Focus on fewer applications: Make them authentic and in close alignment with the employer’s stated mission and values.
• Use cover letters wisely: Use them to explain why you’re a good fit and recalibrate yor CV for each job you apply for. Not just copy and paste!
• Build resilience: Rejection will happen. Don’t take it personally.
• Volunteer: Not just because it looks good on a CV—but because it’s good for the soul.
•  Live a little: Travel. Meet people. Work different jobs. All of it builds experience and perspective.

Finito Success Stories

Aspiring lawyer Max Liebmann from Watford joined the Finito bursary programme in 2023, aged 19. At the time, Max was in his second year at the University of Cambridge studying law. Finito mentors helped Max with LinkedIn training, his interview skills and to develop his legal thinking. Through the Finito bursary scheme, Max went on to secure work experience with Carter-Ruck and more recently was offered a training contract at top law firm Slaughter and May, starting this September.

Judith, who is based in London and Ireland, is a former C-suite at an S&P 500 global corporation. Through Finito, she is seeking a mid-career reset in order to accommodate her outside interests, including taking on non-executive directorships and pursuing her passion for long distance open water swimming. Having reached the top of her profession Finito is helping Judith to find that elusive “work life balance’.

For more information: Email info@finito.org.uk