Unveiling the Truth Behind Ghost Jobs

Job seekers are frustrated by the trend of applying to jobs posted online, and although they believe they would be a strong fit, they never hear back from the employer. Often, they see the same job posted again and again.? This frustration results in job seekers second-guessing themselves, revising their resumes with extra and new keywords, and changing their job targets.? But it may not be the job seeker at all. There has been a huge increase of job postings that are eventually closed as ‘unfilled.’?

?It is now estimated that half of the jobs posted today do not result in a hire. But why would companies bother to post jobs they do not intend to fill? Sometimes it is not a job from the company at all – it may be an old opening posted as bait to get applicant information for identity theft or to build a contact list which may be sold. But often companies do post jobs that they do not intend to fill. Here are 8 reasons a ghost job might be posted:?

?1.?????? To build a list of candidates to reach out to later for future volume hiring needs.?

2.?????? To find a future potential contender with sought after skills to pursue should that person become available.?

3.?????? When employers have purchased job board postings by-the-month and they have left over ones to ‘use up.’??

4.?????? To keep their current staff motivated on the promise of “we are doing our best to hire to relieve you from all those extra hours you are putting in”, but not pursuing the hiring process past resume collection.??

5.?????? To collect competitor wage information?

6.?????? To test the job market and availability of candidates when considering future locations to expand to.?

7.?????? To comply to their policies of open fair competition for jobs, even though they already have a candidate selected.?

8.?????? To give the appearance of company growth??

?How can a job seeker determine if a posting might be real??

·???????? If they found it on a job board or it was sent to them by a 3rd party, they should go to the actual company career site and see if it is listed.?

·???????? If the job posting is older than 8 weeks, the selection process is usually underway, as the typical job is filled in about seven to 8 weeks.???

·???????? If the posting is very old or has been reposted often without major changes to the job requirements or description, then it is likely for future and not urgent hiring.?

·???????? Generic postings are more likely to be ghost postings and are often short on details about the job requirements or duties of the role in order to attract a large number of applications.??

The practice of posting ghost jobs is not only frustrating to job seekers, but also skews a macro indicator of the labor market used by government and financial analysts, the number of jobs open against the number of those unemployed.? Right now, there are currently 1.25 jobs for each unemployed person according to this indicator.? Or is it?? The ratio of open jobs to the number of those who are unemployed is taken into consideration when state governments decide on setting length of unemployment benefits, availability of worker training and many other policies. Ghost jobs have ramifications that affect all job seekers, not just the ones who apply and never hear back.?

Many companies do not understand how ghost job postings jeopardize their brand as an employer. The skills and worker shortages will continue well into the future so creating and maintaining a positive reputation as an employer is critical. Engaging in activities that frustrate applicants such as posting ghost jobs will result in future talent attraction efforts.??

For those seeking a new job opportunity, ghost jobs are currently an unfortunate reality, and especially so for those who in their job searches rely heavily on applying to jobs posted online.? If you are in the market for a new job, ensure that you include other job search strategies such as networking and building your brand to keep those ghosts at bay.???

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