I Built a 'Ghosted' Button (Out of Pure Spite)

A Feature Built Out of Pure Spite

Let me tell you about a feature I built out of pure spite.

You know that feeling when you apply for a job and then... nothing? No rejection. No update. Just eternal limbo. Your application exists in some quantum state where you're simultaneously still in the running and completely forgotten.

Three weeks pass. Four. You check the job posting. Still up. Is that good? Bad? Are they interviewing? Did they fill it internally? Did the hiring manager quit? Did the company pivot to selling artisanal cheese?

You'll never know. Because nobody tells you anything.

The Mental Load of Open Loops

Here's what nobody talks about: every ghosted application takes up mental real estate.

It's not just one unanswered application. It's the cognitive load of:

• "Should I follow up?"
• "Is it too soon? Too late?"
• "Maybe they're just slow..."
• "But the posting is still up..."
• "What if they call tomorrow?"

Multiply that by 10, 20, 50 applications and you've got a brain running background processes like a laptop with too many Chrome tabs open.

And here's the worst part: you're waiting for closure that may never come.

Some companies genuinely forget to reject candidates. Some keep postings up "just in case." Some have ATS systems that archive applications into a black hole where no automated email ever escapes.

So I Built a Button

I added something to CV Match Maker. It's simple but weirdly satisfying.

The job tracker monitors when your applications go quiet. After three weeks of no movement - no status change, no notes, no scheduled events - it nudges you:

"Hey, these applications haven't had any updates. Want to review them?"

And then YOU get to decide.

Mark it as Ghosted. Move on. Close that mental tab. Take back control instead of waiting for some automated ATS email that may never come - or worse, arrives four months later like a message in a bottle from a company that forgot you existed.

Why This Matters More Than You Think

Job searching is emotionally exhausting. Every application carries a little bit of hope, and when that hope just... hangs there indefinitely, it drains you.

The ghosted button isn't just a status update. It's permission to:

• Stop checking - That company's career page doesn't need another visit
• Stop wondering - The answer is now "no" because you said so
• Stop waiting - Your timeline, your decision
• Reclaim mental energy - Close the loop yourself

There's something genuinely therapeutic about clicking that button. It's not giving up. It's acknowledging reality and choosing not to let someone else's silence control your mental state.

The Uncomfortable Truth About Ghosting

Let's be honest about why companies ghost:

1. Volume

A single job posting can get 200-500 applications. Rejecting everyone individually? That's a lot of emails nobody has time to send.

2. Legal Caution

Some companies avoid rejection emails entirely because anything in writing could theoretically be used in a discrimination claim. Silence is "safer."

3. Keeping Options Open

If their first choice declines, they might circle back to candidate #2. Easier to do if they never officially rejected you.

4. Nobody Assigned To Do It

The hiring manager moved on. The recruiter left. The role got put on hold. Your application is nobody's problem now.

Understanding this doesn't make it less frustrating. But it does explain why your peace of mind shouldn't depend on whether a recruiter remembers to click "reject" in their system.

Taking Back Control

The ghosted feature is part of how CV Match Maker approaches job tracking differently:

• Activity monitoring - See which applications have gone quiet
• Status history - Track every change, note, and event
• Your decision - Mark applications as ghosted when YOU decide it's over
• Clean pipeline - Focus energy on applications that are actually moving

It's a small thing. But small things add up when you're managing dozens of applications across weeks or months of searching.

The Bottom Line

You can't control whether companies respond to your applications. You can't force recruiters to send rejection emails. You can't make hiring managers respect your time.

But you can decide when something is over.

You can close your own loops.

You can stop letting silence occupy mental space rent-free.

Your job search. Your timeline. Your closure.

And if that company does eventually send a rejection email four months later? You'll already have moved on. Because you didn't need their permission to do so.