💼 “I Was Interviewed for a $8,000/Month PPC Role — Then Ghosted”
Disclaimer: Names and identifying details have been changed to protect privacy. The experience is real.
🧩 It Looked Legit
A founder from a U.S. based SEO agency reached out to me through a referral. His friend — let’s call him Ray — was looking for a Google Ads specialist to manage over $90,000/month in ad spend.
The role was full-time, remote, and promised a starting salary of $8,000/month after a paid trial period. The process looked promising:
- Online screening
- Founder interview
- Paid live audit as the final step
They even sent me meeting invites, responded quickly, and promised the next stage within a week.
🕵️ The Interviews
I had two rounds:
- Pre-screen with two VAs, who were warm and professional
- A direct Zoom call with the founder, who seemed genuinely interested and asked detailed questions about:
- My experience with high-budget PPC
- Conversion tracking setups
- Campaign structuring and keyword segmentation
- Match types, negative keyword workflows, and platform best practices
We agreed on a paid live audit with Ray, where I would walk through an actual Google Ads account and give strategic feedback in real time.
🧍♂️ Then… Nothing
I followed up 3 times over 2 weeks.
No replies.
No updates.
No rejection.
Just silence.
❓ Did I Share Too Much?
At first, I questioned myself.
Did I overshare? Did I give away my IP?
But the truth is: No.
I shared:
- High-level frameworks (bidding strategy, search term optimization, conversion tracking process)
- General case study results
- My workflow and thought process
I did not share:
- Client data
- Proprietary templates
- Login access
- Detailed strategy documents
- Tools or SOPs
I shared expertise, not intellectual property.
💡 The Realization
This wasn't a scam. It was worse:
It was an unstructured hiring process wrapped in a "friendly referral" — with zero commitment and zero closure.
Ray was a friend of the founder.
The founder was “helping out.”
There was no HR.
No process.
No accountability.
I was vetted, not valued.
🧠 What I Learned
✅ Ask for structure early.- “Will the live audit be under a short agreement?”
- A calendar invite isn’t a contract.
✅ Even founder-led interviews can ghost you.
✅ Document everything — you can always turn it into content.
📣 Advice to Other Freelancers
- Qualify your clients, too. Ask smart questions early.
- Never give away client strategies or SOPs without protection.
- Turn dead ends into assets. Blog about it. Teach from it.
✅ The Upside
Now, I have:
- A polished PPC audit checklist
- A sharper screening process
- New content for my personal site
- And the confidence that I handled it better than they did
If you’ve been ghosted after high-level talks, you’re not alone. Keep building. Keep showing up. But protect your value every step of the way.
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