Boooo…. Beware of Ghost Jobs

(Thanks to our friends at MyPerfectResume for sharing this data.)

MyPerfectResume released the findings of its Recruiting Trends Survey revealing a trend that is likely seems unfair to serious jobseekers. A staggering 81% of recruiters admitted to posting jobs that don’t genuinely exist or are already filled. This practice of ghost jobs (posting positions that are either fake or already filled) could have some deep implications for professionals searching for their next real role.  

MyPerfectResume polled 753 recruiters across the U.S. to better understand the latest developments in the recruiting landscape.

Here are some of the findings about ghost jobs.

Recruiters say that they post jobs that don’t exist to test the market. This is not a new practice. I worked in recruiting for over 20 years, and many employers, especially companies considering expanding or locating in another city, asked if they could post jobs months in advance. They wanted to see what the response would be and assess the quality of the applicant pool. In our workforce development organization, we had a policy that prohibited ghost job postings; we thought it was unfair to our jobseekers.

But these days, companies post jobs that don’t exist to stay present on job boards, even when they’re not hiring. They also post jobs that will attract candidates they hope to talk into other (usually less well-paid) jobs within the company. “Our customer service manager job has been filled, but we have several call center positions open that you might consider.” That kind of bait and switch can erode candidate trust quickly.

Despite the potential for turning candidates off, ghost job postings are not uncommon. The Recruiting Trends Survey revealed:

• 36% of recruiters say that about a quarter of their jobs posted are ghosts.
• 21.5% say about half their posts don’t exist.
• Only 5% said that they don’t ever post ghost jobs.

Some companies post jobs that do exist, but already have a strong internal candidate who’s a lock for the job. They’re just covering their bases for HR compliance or trying to show that they made an effort to look for outside candidates to ensure they’ve hired the best candidate.

Sometimes, companies post jobs with technical or other skills that are hard to find. They may be shoring up the pool of candidates for a key role that would take a long time to fill. In fact, 25% post hard-to-fill roles to assess in advance how difficult it would be to replace certain employees.

You’re more likely to see “blind” ads with no company listed in these cases – to avoid a situation where the person holding the key role would happen to see their job posted on a recruiting site. (Sort of like a ghost wearing a mask. Ugh.)

Unfortunately for job seekers, there’s no way to know in advance whether a job posting is legitimate. And you might never know that the job you applied for was never a possibility. You have to treat them all as if they aren’t tricks. But choosing to apply to companies with growth potential and being open to possibilities means that you may find another role within a good company. I’ve seen cases where smart companies created a new role when they found the right talent and cultural fit.

In the next post, I’ll show you how you can flip the script to target a company rather than a job.

Published by candacemoody

Candace’s background includes Human Resources, recruiting, training and assessment. She spent several years with a national staffing company, serving employers on both coasts. Her writing on business, career and employment issues has appeared in the Florida Times Union, the Jacksonville Business Journal, the Atlanta Journal Constitution and 904 Magazine, as well as several national publications and websites. Candace is often quoted in the media on local labor market and employment issues.
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