How to Spot (and Bust) Ghost Jobs: 4 Easy Steps

What are ghost jobs — and how common are they?

Ghost job posts are ads for roles that aren’t actually open. And they’re more common than you might think, showing up on all the best job boards.

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After some basic investigating to see how many ghost jobs are on LinkedIn, our team found what appear to be 1.6 million+ job postings older than 30 days in the US alone (at the time of this writing).

Additionally, Resume Genius’s recent Job Seeker Insights Survey discovered that 32% of job seekers are frustrated by ghost jobs.

Ghost jobs are a headache because properly responding to a job ad requires a lot of time and effort. Filling out applications for jobs that aren’t actually hiring can quickly bog down your job hunt and it’s demoralizing when they don’t reply.

Why do ghost jobs exist?

In a recent survey of 1,000+ managers by Clarify Capital, 10% of respondents said they’d had a job opening up for half a year or more.

And a recent Hiring Trends Survey found that 80% of hiring managers have ignored candidates after initial interactions.

So why are companies doing this? The truth is that these listings benefit employers. By leaving these dead-end job postings online, they can:

• create the perception that their company is growing
• keep an eye out for talent that’s too good to pass on
• attract qualified applicants in case a current employee leaves or a role opens in the future
• collect LinkedIn followers and emails for mailing lists

As long ghost jobs continue to haunt job boards, the best thing for job seekers to do is to learn how to spot and bust them.

How to avoid ghost job posts

Follow these 4 steps to exorcise ghost jobs from your employment search:

1. Check the date

When you’re applying for jobs, always start by checking the date it was posted. The longer the job has been open, the more likely it is to be a ghost job.

There’s no set amount of time after which a job turns ghostly, but according to Business Insider, the average length of time it takes companies to fill a position is about 1.5 months.

So, if a job has been up for around 2 months or more, there’s a good chance it’s a ghost posting.

But you shouldn’t automatically discount every job that’s been up for a long time. The company may be having legitimate problems finding qualified candidates, and you could be the applicant they’re seeking.

2. Cross-reference the company website

An easy way to check the legitimacy of a role you find on a job board is by looking for the position on the company’s website.

Many companies advertise their available positions on their websites. When a job is no longer open on the company’s own job opening page, it means the employer either:

• forgot to remove their post from the job board
• or is intentionally leaving the job post up outside their website to create the illusion of company growth or to collect data

But if the job you want is still open on the employer’s website, proceed to the next step before applying.

3. Research the employer’s social media

Even if a job is open on a company’s website, it still could be a ghost posting. So do a little more online sleuthing before you apply.

Simply scroll through the company’s social media feeds, looking for any indication of whether they’re still hiring for the role you want.

Employers that are actively hiring sometimes post about their job openings on their online profiles. And companies often welcome their new hires in social media posts — especially on LinkedIn — so search for these as well.

You can even see whether you have any LinkedIn connections who work at the company. If you feel comfortable doing so, send them a message inquiring politely about whether they’re still hiring.

4. Contact the company directly

Still irked by the feeling that the job ad for your target role might be a ghost listing after doing the research steps above? In that case, it’s time to reach out to the company’s HR department directly.

Message the hiring manager on LinkedIn, send an email, or make a quick phone call to ask about the job opening.

Don’t worry about potentially bothering them. If the job is open, they’ll be happy to help you apply. And if it’s a ghost job, then the company has set itself up to be contacted by ghost job hunters!

In the end, there’s nothing to be scared of when you encounter possible ghost jobs. Just keep an eye on the job ad posting dates, check the company’s website and social media, and — if necessary — contact the employer directly.

Now get out there, bust those ghost job posts, and you’ll be introducing yourself in an interview in no time!

Sources

• Business Insider, “How Long Does It Take to Get Hired in 2023? If You’re Looking For a Job, You May Have to Wait”
• Clarify Capital, “Survey: Job Seekers Beware of Ghost Jobs”
• Resume Genius, “2024 Hiring Trends Survey: What Makes a Great Job Candidate?”
• Resume Genius, “Job Seeker Insights Survey”

About Resume Genius

Since 2009, Resume Genius and its globally popular resume builder have been helping people from all backgrounds and experience levels land their next job faster.

Resume Genius also provides a wide range of free career resources, including customizable resume templates, resume examples for different industries, and resume writing guides, to help job seekers find fulfilling work and reach their career goals.

Resume Genius is led by a team of dedicated career advisors and HR experts and has been featured in The New York Times, Harvard Business Review, Fast Company, CNBC, and USA Today.

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