If you’ve scrolled enough on job posting websites like LinkedIn and Indeed, you must’ve encountered jobs that have been posted for months. Yet, it shows that they are still hiring. How is it possible that after months of posting a job, no candidate has been hired?
Now, imagine a jobseeker stepping into the workforce for the first time. They look at job postings and prepare their cover letter, reference, and resume accordingly. They’ve applied for the job, but after no response from the company, it’s radio silence. A few days or weeks later, they see the same job posting again. How demoralizing it must be for them! The poor folk have been victims of ghost jobs.
In both situations, the obvious red flags were missed. Don’t know what we are talking about? No worries; by the end of this blog, you’ll know everything you need to know about ghost jobs.
What Are Ghost Jobs and Why Do Companies Post Them?
To put it simply, it means that the job listing seems to be active but isn’t hiring anyone for the said role. In some cases, the posting is entirely fake and there’s no such opening in the company. It often misleads the job seekers and makes the situation a bit chaotic for them.
A survey done by Resume Builder found that 40% of companies have posted a fake job this year. It’s not ill-intentioned in most cases, nor is it some scammer trying to swindle money from you (in most cases). Such postings are usually done by big companies, but it isn’t necessarily something that they need at that point.
Ever wondered why a company puts its reputation at stake by posting such jobs that leave candidates frustrated? Here are your answers:
1. Keep a Pool of Candidates Handy for the Future: It has been observed that in some cases, even after hiring a candidate for a particular role, companies have kept the job post active. This helps the companies have multiple options ready in case the selected candidate doesn’t work out or if the scope of work demands a stronger workforce. 1 out of 2 managers keep an “always open-to-new” people approach, according to a survey done by Clarify Capital.
2. Improve the Company Image in the Market: A survey done by Clarify Capital says that 43% of hiring managers post ghost jobs deliberately to show that the company is growing. It’s used as a strategy to imply and show the market, the investors, and even employees that they are growing steadily.
3. Distract Employees or Scare Them Straight: By putting out these ghost jobs, companies trick their employees into believing that more people will be hired to deal with the increased workload. This creates a false hope and sense of relief that keeps the employees going. Some companies use ghost jobs to create a fear among employees that they are easily replaceable and need to step up. The Resume Builder survey says that almost 62% of companies post ghost jobs to create insecurity among employees.
4. Human Error: In some cases, it’s simply that the hiring team forgot to take down the post after the position was filled.
By posting such jobs, companies can manipulate the market in different ways. This could be to improve their worth in the market or to create a fake scenario where the data shows the availability of jobs. Let’s look at this impact in depth.
Impact of Ghost Jobs
Due to such job posts, the number of job listings in the market always remains inflated. In some cases, the actual number of jobs available might be far less than the statistic that’s been given by the government. Apart from that, for those who are desperately looking for jobs, such postings could be demoralizing as they are not going to get hired. In many cases, these applicants don’t receive any communication from the employer.
Any aspiring candidate who looks at these bloated figures of the available jobs is bound to feel confident. They’ll think about landing a job at any of those places, but end up feeling dejected. It’s not just the applicants who suffer; such high false numbers also start to make companies look bad in the long run, which a lot of employers and hiring managers are realizing now. Ghost jobs make it hard for companies to get quality candidates and stop current employees from becoming brand advocates.
Now that we know what these jobs are and what their impact is, let’s look at ways to spot them.
How to Spot Ghost Jobs?
1. Cross-check Company’s Social Handles: Almost every company has a website, a LinkedIn page, and accounts on social media platforms. Many of these companies post details of job openings in these places. So if you come across a job requirement from a company, and if they’ve posted it across handles recently, there is a good chance that it’s genuine.
2. Apply Through Reliable Sources: When applying for jobs online, go only through reliable platforms like LinkedIn, Indeed, or Naukri.com. These platforms can be trusted with your information and ghost jobs could be spotted here. You can look for the reviews left under the company or get in touch with the company directly via call or email.
If these details are missing in job posts, it’s better to stay away from them. Apart from that, keep an eye on the posts that are recurring in your feed. Once the position is filled, the post should be closed. If you spot one, flag it and report the company to the portal. This will help you focus on authentic job posts and help others in the process too.
3. Look out for the Duration and Application Numbers: One of the best ways to spot a ghost job is by looking at the time it was posted. If it’s been active for many months, and has multiple applicants, there’s a good chance that it’s a ghost job.
For example, if you spot a company that’s ACTIVELY hiring for the role of writer for over two months and has over 200 applicants, then this is a red flag. The position must’ve been filled by now. However, the fact that it is still open for applicants means that it is very likely to be a ghost job.
4. Random Descriptions and Titles: Some companies post jobs with the weirdest titles possible, which don’t make sense. They are usually just looking to make a list of candidates ready for future openings. Along with that, job descriptions could also be a good way to check if the company is serious about hiring. Specific, descriptive, and not copied from a template, could be things that you need to look out for when reading a job description.
Let's say you come across a job description that includes tasks like making reports, managing numbers, and helping the team. This doesn’t help anyone understand the details of the role. Making reports could be anything, right from making reports for clients showing progress of the task to making internal reports that’ll show the number of payments done to the vendors. One is client servicing and the other one is more related to the finance team and HR, so what exactly will be the role?
Summing Up
Ghost jobs have a subjective reputation in the market. For employers, it’s a way of improving their image in the market and keeping the employees in check. On the other hand, for candidates, it could be demoralizing and frustrating. But regardless, it could have many effects on everyone, right from the employer brand of the company to the quality of employees coming in. As a candidate, be vigilant and thorough before applying for any job; it’ll help you save time and energy.
FAQs
What Are Ghosts Jobs?
Ghost jobs are those that the company is marketing but isn’t interested in filling. Such jobs can create a gap in the market, as the real number may never come out due to them. Not only do such jobs affect applicants, but the employees, too, may feel demoralized or confused by the misleading job postings.
What Is a Phantom Job?
A phantom job is just another name for ghost jobs. It’s when a company posts about an opening for a role that may not even exist. They are given random job titles and descriptions.
How to Tell If a Job Posting Is a Ghost Job?
By looking at the time of job posting, you can figure out if the post is real or not. If a job posting has been open for over a month or two, then it’s safe to assume that this may be a ghost job. Other ways include going through company details and reviews, the job description, and suspicious job titles. Using these methods can help you spot a ghost job.
