The Top 3 Reasons Why Companies Post Fake Jobs; Why They Continue to Waste Your Time And Lead You On During Your Job Search

WHY DO COMPANIES LIE TO JOB SEEKERS:

Wouldn't it be helpful in your job search if when a company posted a FAKE job description their nose would grow just Pinocchio's did when he fibbed? Picture it: You sit down in front of ZOOM and your interviewer turns on their camera. Small talk, and then BOOM their nose starts elongating and you're able to excuse yourself from the interview and get on with your life? You save your money, your time, and your energy. Sadly, companies' noses are growing all over the globe and this has been my rally cry for over 25 years.

If you've followed me for more than a minute you know I share how the sausage is made in hiring, job search, and interviewing. The behind the scenes details that many people in hiring don't want me to share especially in HR is the exact information you need in order to have a successful job search.

I've been a recruiter for over 30 years and I've seen it all. I've also been a job seeker during the recession of 2001 and that experience lasted for years. I scared, intimidated, shocked, and I'm here to say that if I made it - you can make it!

JOIN ME LIVE

Wednesday May 11th 12:30 PM EST

FOR A DISCUSSION ON FAKE JOBS, GHOSTING and OTHER NONSENSE AND HOW TO AVOID IT DURING A RECESSION

(THIS IS FOR JOB SEEKERS ONLY - NO HUMAN RESOURCES!)

https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_m_WU0pi9RqeFja3u1U9JGw

Reason #1: Companies aren't honest about job postings (They Won't Lose Their Job or Get Reprimanded If They Lie To You)

If you're like me you watched The Brady Bunch you dreamed of living in that mid-century modern house and coming home to Alice with her witty jokes and home made treats. In this one episode Jan (the middle child) was about to receive an award and her parents were there in the wings. Carol and Mike Brady (Mr. and Mrs. Brady) were waiting to celebrate Jan's win. The teacher was announcing her award and Jan was about to accept when she bursts onto the stage and whispers in her teacher's ear: "THERE WAS A MISTAKE! I can't accept the award! It's NORA! NORA won the award. There was an ERROR in scoring the results!" Boom award gone for Jan. BOOM Jan showed that honesty has rewards in life!

The teacher announced that because of an error Jan wouldn't be receiving the Honor Society Award and they'd reschedule so Nora Coombs' parents could be there to watch her accept it. The pan the camera to a concerned yet proud Mike and Carol and the wrap up the scene. However the teacher wants everyone to know that JAN SHOULD WIN AN AWARD FOR BEING HONEST!!!!! This means something! This means so much. Wouldn't you want to engage more with companies who tell the truth especially as it relates to the possibility of you working there? Do you want to work for a company who the first engagement you have is built on a lie? Maybe it's real, maybe it's not - but they don't care what you believe? How have we arrived here? This isn't new. It's been going on for decades but now it's more transparent as we have LinkedIn to share and commiserate and understand that it's not just you - it's happening everywhere.

It seems like HR Managers across the globe didn't have role models like Mike and Carol Brady. They lie all day long about the legitimacy of the jobs they post on line and it's next to impossible to read tea leaves to see if the job is part of an approved budget with a start date or just a description of what one day they'd want to hire. WHY CAN'T THEY BE LIKE JAN BRADY AND BE HONEST? Why can't they email to you to say "we made a mistake! we're not hiring for that role!" They can't because they choose not to - they are more than capable of speaking, and typing and making a phone call.

Human Resources should only be sharing legitimate job descriptions with start dates and salaries posted online PERIOD!

Reason 2: Companies like to build "Pipelines" of Candidates for a Rainy Day (However You Think That the Job is Open Now!)

When you read a job posting online you make the ASSUMPTION that the person/company posting this job is talking about hiring in the immediate future. Why would you spend money and time both posting and interviewing a job if you have NO INTENTION of hiring a person for that role? Well, it's a game for many companies. I'll break this down for you.

When companies sign a contract with any job posting side (Indeed, Zip Recruiter etc) they have a certain amount of jobs they can post with a time limit. Sometimes they have space to post more jobs. Sometimes these hiring managers/HR/Talent Acquisition folks will post jobs that "DON'T EXIST". Sometimes they post a job to "SEE WHAT'S OUT THERE".

Sometimes they backfill roles. Perhaps they find out one of their employees is interviewing, or someone shared they're thinking of going back to school for an MBA and doing it full time, or someone's spouse is interviewing for a job across the country. They might post this job and you interview for the role but what if the person decides not to go for their MBA, or they don't get the job they're interviewing for etc...Then you just spent all this time interviewing for a job that they had no real intention of hiring someone to fill that role.

There's very little concern about the job seeker (interviewee) and that is why so many companies could give a TOOT about lying about these jobs being real. There is a difference between a job that HR and hiring managers need to hire immediately versus a maybe or a wish list.

Another reason that companies have a pipeline occurs when they are going after a piece of business that they are hoping to win and they will need to staff for - but they are trying to ramp up interviewing so that they have this "pipeline" of candidates when they hear the RFP or award going to their company. They sometimes need to show this to the prospective client they're trying to land to let them know that they have a plan in place to hire immediately up the award of the contract. Most times the hiring manager won't share with you that this isn't a done deal yet and you walk away wondering why you never heard back (Next Friday's newsletter will focus on GHOSTING!) which can be a result of FAKE job postings because you know it's fake - what do they have to tell you? They won't ever be honest - they lied when they made the conversation present tense - not future. Pipelines are for future jobs - not now and that's what you're interviewing for, right?

The next form of building a pipeline is for people who are on PIPS (Performance Improvement Plans.) People who are current employees of the company might have been issued a warning that they haven't been doing a great job in their current role. I always share with folks - if you're on a PIP you better work on your resume and start interviewing while you work on improving your current situation because it's the company that holds the power here. This is something issued from Human Resources and it's a 3 strikes you're out kind of vibe. PIP's are scary and intimidating for the current employee. Sometimes it's not their fault. Maybe their manager or their boss (pick your poison on title here) despises them, maybe it's hostile work environment, maybe they're being discriminated against - there are so many reasons why they could be on this when it's not their fault - in this case the hiring manager might have had that conversation with HR and they initiate a search for the person who will replace the person on the PIP if the company decides they are going to let them go.

When you interview for this type of role there's probably an 80/20% chance that the person could be let go. However, now is when they start figuring out if they should change the role and job description. So they might be looking at all different types of candidates with different salary ranges and a wide variety of experience and in this case you could be waiting forever because (a) the job isn't officially open and (b) it's lacking clarity. You need to have clarity both to interview and hire. Vague, or open to different types of people usually extends the job search even longer than the company intended because everyone isn't on the same page. One question you should ask when you interview is if this is a new role or a replacement. If they can't answer you - you might get the vibe that there is someone already in the role. You don't have time to waste on them figuring it out and this is one of the most frustrating forms of pipeline filling job descriptions posted online.

Reason 3: Companies post FAKE jobs to gain competitive intelligence:

If you've ever read my posts when I speak to TAKE HOME PROJECTS as a part of the interviewing process, you'll know my answer. NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO you don't do "take home projects." You're not 8 years old. These companies post job descriptions on line and then interview a TON of people and ask them to do take home projects. Whether you're in technology, a marketer, an expert in new business development, creative, operations....the list goes on and on....you do not do a take home test.

People who call people in for interviews who have ZERO INTENTION of hiring them interview you to get ideas for their company to execute. This is stealing. This is stealing your IP. They have NO intention of hiring you. I've gone head to head with many a hiring manager or an HR "manager" who says this is part of their hiring practice. "GOOD FOR YOU" I say but Steve or Carla isn't going to play that game. I've been ANTI "take home tests" for over 25 years.

If they can't interview someone and hire them based on their experience in the business, and they need you to do a presentation/take home test/build out a marketing strategy then they probably aren't very good at their job.

I urge you to pass on these opportunities - They are taking advantage of you!

How do they find the people to fall for this you think? FAKE.JOB.POSTINGS. They had NO intention of hiring for that role - they're on a hunting expedition and you didn't work this hard and come this far to fall for this nonsense. It's unethical, it's unacceptable, and it's EXHAUSTING. If they're at a level of interviewing where they're not a good interviewer - maybe they should pass that off to someone else in their organization.

If THEY can't come up with their own ideas maybe they should go into a different industry. Stealing an interviewee (job seeker's) information is pathetic, and wrong.

Thank you for subscribing to my newsletter. As my little boy says about his Youtube channel, if you like what you see - please remember to hit LIKE SUBSCRIBE COMMENT and SHARE BELOW! Don't forget: Wednesday at 12:30 PM May 11th - I'll be discussing this with job seekers on a private call: Here's the registration (required!): https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_m_WU0pi9RqeFja3u1U9JGw

No Human Resources! Thank you! #GOGOGO #YOUVEGOTTHIS