Have you ever applied for a job, never heard back, and kept seeing the same recruitment advertisement even months later? If yes, then you might have come across a “ghost job”.
Ghost jobs are used for job openings that have been left active online for a long period of time but never seem to get filled.
This ‘ghost job’ is a new term that has emerged from the corporate world after the “Great Resignation” and “quiet quitting”.
Some of these are job postings that seem real but are likely not.
Sometimes these positions are opened by companies with no intention of hiring, while in other instances the recruiters have already hired someone but continue to keep the job ad alive.
A survey of over 1,000 hiring managers by Clarify Capital – a loan provider – revealed around 27 per cent of those surveyed admitted to leaving job postings up for more than four months.
Around 50 per cent of hiring managers said they were always ready to recruit new people, while 43 per cent wanted to give the impression that their company were growing.
Another reason to keep job postings up was just in case an “irresistible” candidate applied, according to Clarify Capital.
Kelsey Libert, co-founder of Fractl, a digital marketing agency, told The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) that it “makes sense” for employers to constantly be on the lookout for talent.
“Otherwise, you’re suddenly in a position where you need to spend a lot of money on LinkedIn ads to quickly drum up interest,” she added.
Speaking to HRKatha last November, Pradipta Sahoo, said some companies go beyond listing fake jobs and also conduct fake interviews just to “get market insights from rival firms”.
It can be quite frustrating for job seekers to apply for new jobs only to get no response.
First, a candidate must check the timing when a job was posted and how long has the listing been active online.
Employees interested in switching jobs can also reach out to their LinkedIn connections or anyone working at the company they intend to join to confirm a job ad.