Startup founder says 'hiring is broken' as trust erodes amid recruitment ghosting

A candid social media post by a startup founder on recruitment challenges has triggered a wider discussion on trust, professionalism and candidate ghosting in the hiring process, according to reports.

Pritesh Lakhani, co-founder of B2B marketplace Pneucons, shared his experience on X, stating that repeated hiring setbacks had prompted him to question why recruitment increasingly feels dysfunctional. Lakhani informed that two new recruits joined the company and resigned within two days of receiving their offer letters, while another candidate accepted an offer last month but failed to report for work without any explanation.

He stated that the incidents resulted in significant time loss for the company, following which Pneucons altered its hiring process by deciding to issue offer letters only after candidates formally joined. Lakhani explained that the change was aimed at protecting the company from repeated no-shows rather than exerting control over candidates, but added that the revised approach did not fully resolve the issue.

Two new recruits joined and left within 2 days after getting their offer letters.
Last month, another candidate took the offer and never joined.

No drama. No explanation. Just wasted time.

So we changed the process. We decided to share offer letters only after people joined.…

— Pritesh Lakhani (@priteshlakhani) January 16, 2026

Lakhani said that hiring feels broken not because companies lack empathy but because trust is being repeatedly abused, adding that what are often perceived as rigid corporate policies typically emerge as responses to earlier setbacks. He further stated that trust does not erode randomly but is lost incrementally, often one offer letter at a time.

The post resonated with several users on the platform, with many sharing similar frustrations in the comments. Some users stated that offer letters are frequently used by candidates as leverage to negotiate higher salaries with competing employers, leading them to secure multiple offers before withdrawing or ghosting companies, which they said results in wasted effort for recruiters.

Others from the recruitment industry echoed the concern, stating that even after candidates formally join, trust remains fragile, with recruiters reportedly witnessing multiple candidates backing out just days before their joining dates each month despite lengthy and effort-intensive hiring processes.

However, the post also drew criticism, with some users disputing Lakhani’s assessment and arguing that professionalism is often lacking on the employer side as well. These users pointed to instances where companies prioritise management perks and bonuses while offering minimal salary increments to employees or resorting to layoffs, citing examples from large corporations to question whether the burden of professionalism should rest solely on candidates.