Job seekers beware! You might be applying to a "ghost job"

You probably know it well: The exhausting, soul-crushing, crazy-making pursuit known as the modern day job search.?

Gen Z has been particularly vocal on social media about putting in hundreds of applications with no success, and it’s not uncommon anymore for recruiters or hiring managers to simply never respond to a prospective candidate.?

But the job search landscape is even more harrowing for a more nefarious reason, according to a new study. Around 81% of recruiters admit to posting “ghost jobs”—positions that are either already filled, or completely fabricated.??

“We often hear job-seekers saying, ‘I'm tired, I'm depressed, I'm desperate,’ using these very harsh words when it comes to the job market,” Jasmine Escalera, a career expert for MyPerfectResume which conducted the study, told my colleague Emma Burleigh . “This is one of the reasons why they are losing faith in organizations and companies.”

And the problem is widespread. Out of recruiters overall, a whopping 17% say that around 75% of their job postings are fake, and 21.5% say that’s true for half of their postings. That takes up a lot of real estate on job boards, with job seekers putting in resume after resume in good faith to companies that have no plans to take their application seriously.?

So why do it??

There are a few different reasons, including building a talent pool and getting a temperature check on the current job market. But keeping up appearances is a major motivator.

“Companies are trying to project ‘We're okay, we're still maintaining hiring, that we're still moving in a growth-oriented trend. In this market, our organization is doing well,’” says Escalera.?

So job seekers beware! The system is stacked against you, though that’s cold comfort during months or even years-long search. And as for recruiters: Think twice before posting a ghost job—and try to be part of the solution.?

You can read the full story here .?

Leadership Tip of the Week ??

The soul of a company is a fragile thing, and REI is learning that the hard way, writes my colleague Phil Wahba . It’s been hemorrhaging money for two years, but employees are afraid its famous backpacker-friendly culture will suffer as leaders focus on boosting profits.

Leadership Next

If you shop on the internet, you’ve probably seen?Klarna—and its buy-now, pay-later installment offers—when shopping at major retailers like?Bloomingdale's,?Foot Locker,?or Sephora. The company’s plans allow shoppers to?break up purchases into four equal payments,?with no interest.

Klarna CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski says installment plans fill a gap in the market, allowing customers some payment flexibility without the interest and fees found with typical credit cards.

But Klarna does much more than just installments. On this week’s episode of Leadership Next, Michal and Diane Brady talk to Siemiatkowski about Klarna’s early adoption of AI, why the company also offers credit cards, and its growth plans.

Listen to the episode and subscribe to Leadership Next wherever you listen to podcasts, or read the full transcript here.

Those are our biggest leadership stories of the week.

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