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Job seekers in 2024 are facing a new frustration: ghost jobs. These fake job listings, often found on job boards and company sites, are posted by real companies but for positions that don’t exist.
According to a Resume Builder report, 40% of employers admit to posting ghost jobs this year, mostly in the tech industry.
If you’ve spent hours applying for jobs and never heard back, the problem might not be competition but deception. Another survey by MyPerfectResume found that 81% of recruiters admitted their companies posted fake job listings. “Ghost jobs are actually not scams. They’re from real companies, but they are openings that don’t actually exist,” explained Geoffrey Scott, senior content manager at Resume Genius.
The rise of ghost jobs has serious implications for mental health. Career coach Irene Nexica, who experienced layoffs firsthand in 2023, noted how disheartening it is for job seekers. “In today’s market, they are already spending a lot of time researching and customizing their applications… it freaks people out,” she said. The false hope these listings create adds to the emotional burden of job searching, making people feel demoralized and stuck.
Companies have their reasons, though not all are justifiable. Some post ghost jobs to maintain an active presence on job boards, test market responses, or prepare for future hiring needs. More troubling, 62% of companies use these job postings to make employees feel they can be easily replaced.
“Such practices are not acceptable,” Stacie Haller, Chief Career Advisor at Resume Builder, emphasized on the ethics involved. “Employees deserve transparency about the companies they dedicate their time to, rather than being led astray by false representations.”
Adding to the challenge, job seekers are now advised to look at job postings more carefully. If a job is not listed on a company’s own website or shows inconsistencies, it might be a ghost job.
“You want to be able to feel like you’re going to make progress in your job search, and it’s just super challenging when not all the jobs that are posted are real,” John Lovig, a veteran recruiter and career coach, plainly expressed. “Sometimes I feel like a psychologist.”
While some hope legislative measures will address this issue, job seekers must continue navigating this tricky landscape with caution and resilience.
