I am an applicant with a 3 year career gap that I took to focus on my kids. But I am reskilled and certified. I applied thorugh referral and a week later, I was contacted by the recruiter saying the hiring manager wants to chat with me. He scheduled a meeting for 2 days later. I studied and prepared day and night. The job description was totally for my experience. I was positive I was going to ace it. Just 2 hours before the call, the recruiter cancelled the meeting without any explanation or replied. Days later, my referrer talked to the hiring manager and came to know that he said he didnt want to take risk because of my career gap. They did not have the guts to tell that to me, or atleast interview me to give me a chance!! Ghosting is easy, but so not professional. And breaks the candidate's spirit.