Yahoo Finance A growing trend of phantom online postings are haunting frustrated job seekers — here’s what’s behind the phenomenon and how it might hurt you
The U.S. Department of Labor claims there are over 10.1 million job openings across the country. That might sound like plenty, but the average job seeker scrambling to find a new role these days might tell you a different story.
One such frustrated applicant described the overall situation to the Wall Street Journal as “really disheartening.”
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Part of what’s contributing to that challenging environment is that many companies are now posting jobs they’re not necessarily hoping to fill, according to a survey from Clarify Capital of over 1,000 hiring managers. About 27% of managers had jobs posted for longer than four months and many of them didn’t expect to fill them anytime soon.
Why? Well, nearly half of the managers surveyed said they kept the positions active because they were always open to new recruits. However, 43% of them said they did so to “keep current employees motivated” and to “give the impression that the company is growing.”
Simply put, corporations keep positions active to cement loyalty from their current workforce and possibly attract more capital from investors by giving the impression that they’re rapidly expanding. And it’s a trend that’s catching more steam, even as many companies cut their hiring budget and commence layoffs.
What’s behind this growing trend
A study by Harvard Business School found that recruiters started posting “ghost jobs” after the pandemic made companies more desperate for talent. Remote work and rapid growth during that era put many sectors of the economy into an intense battle for talent.
Some sectors still have a persistent gap in the number of job openings and the number of people with the right skills to fill them. However, the trend of ghost jobs extends beyond this and is creating a frustrating experience for job hunters.
“I keep seeing articles about how a lot of job posts are fake. Either 1. To seem like the company is growing 2. To fool overworked employees that help is on the way,” says one Twitter user. “I’ve applied to like 200 jobs and all I get is auto rejections.”
Now these phantom job posts are potentially adding strain to an already stretched job market. According to the quarterly ZipRecruiter Job Seeker Confidence Index, job-seeker sentiments about the current job market, financial well-being and expectations had all declined since 2022. Applying and getting rejected by fake jobs could be playing some part in this trend.
Read more: 3 big mistakes people make with cash back credit cards that cost them every time they swipe
How to avoid ghost jobs
Job seekers can reduce their chances of wasting time on a ghost job application by narrowing their search to only recent jobs. While this method isn’t foolproof, it reduces the chances of applying for out-of-date or stale job posts.
Companies that have posted a new position within a few days could be more likely to need urgent help in that segment of their business.
Another way to verify job posts is by seeking out information about the company to see if it’s genuinely expanding. A company that has launched a new branch in your city or raised funds from investors in a recent funding round is more likely to be seeking real employees.
Finally, going beyond job posts and social media platforms to contact recruiters and C-suite executives directly is a sure-fire way to gauge interest.
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This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.
