Posted on 08/11/2025 9:55:13 PM PDT by grundle
The rise of ghost jobs has been causing real frustration for job seekers. According to a 2024 survey from ResumeBuilder.com, 40% of employers admitted to posting job listings with no intention of filling them, and 30% still leave those listings live.
For job seekers, that means hours of time spent applying to jobs that aren’t even real. But it doesn’t end there. These “ghost jobs” were being used to build a resume database, project an image of company growth, or drive traffic to a site, all while leaving applicants in the dark.
What’s even more troubling is how many hiring managers don’t see a problem with this practice. Seven out of ten hiring managers said they believe ghost job postings can boost morale, productivity, and even revenue for their companies. But for job seekers, the impact is lasting. These phantom listings waste time, create false hope, and erode trust in the hiring process, and companies who deploy them, altogether.
Ghost jobs are especially common in industries such as construction, technology, legal services, and food service, where companies often leave outdated listings live, even when no positions are currently available. While some platforms like LinkedIn and Greenhouse are taking steps to mark verified job postings, it’s not enough to solve the problem.
Advocacy groups, such as Truth in Job Ads, are pushing for changes, including the Truth in Job Advertising and Accountability Act (TJAAA), which would require companies to post only real,, open roles. Until then, the growing prevalence of ghost jobs will continue to haunt the job market and frustrate the very people it’s supposed to serve.
A Closer Look at the Truth in Job Advertising and Accountability Act (TJAAA)
As frustration with ghost jobs mounts, lawmakers are beginning to take notice.
(Excerpt) Read more at forbes.com ...
Ghost Jobs suck.
many times they are also used to “show” that there are no Americans that can be hired for the role so the company needs an H1B allotment
The ghost positions that are the topic of the article are yet another piece of the puzzle. Not only gender/race/ethnicity, but age and compensation can become disqualifiers for applicants. Applications for ghost positions can be rejected without further evaluation.
Sure miss the days when one could walk right into the business, talk to the owner, and walk out with a job... assuming you weren’t put to work immediately. Those were the days.... some outliers still exist though they are few and far between.
I can see them covering their butts with fake interviews and using them to strike fear in existing employees.
Gotta keep HR busy you know.
HR of today is unethical and unnecessary.
It used to be that all employment was "at will." The Boss could hire and fire "at will."
But then an increasing number of laws emerged. Anti-discrimination laws concerning race, sex, ethnicity, age, sexual orientation, gender presentation, disability, veteran status, body size, hair style (e.g., the Crown Act), etc. And laws concerning family leave, grievance leave, pregnancy, emotional support animals, hostile work environments, etc.
Hiring, firing, promotions, office attire, work schedules, holiday parties, conversations among employees ... everything is a potential lawsuit.
HR is needed to navigate the minefield that employment law has created.
Ghost jobs.
Also Impossible jobs. They ask for so much, and set pay for so little compared to what they require, in order that the Americans eith those skills would never apply because the money wasn’t worth what they required. So then the companies could have pretext for h1-b hires, they would simply modify the job skills down, amd also lower the pay, so they could claim they aren’t the same job.
That’s what virtually did me in 2008.
Jobs almost ALWAYS found ME because of my resume.
Then you’re applying for lousy jobs, gotta create a login you’ll never use again it was ALL a complete waste of time for me.
I tried and tried. By the time the crash was slowing the Lying Kenyan was in office and it just got worse.
Yet another reason I have such disdain for all that he did.
“many times they are also used to “show” that there are no Americans that can be hired for the role so the company needs an H1B allotment”
The Biden admin and their media stooges used to brag about how many job openings there were. They claimed it was a sign of a good economy. It was more lying about the economy.
“I can see them covering their butts with fake interviews and using them to strike fear in existing employees.’
you’re right. This quote from the article: “Seven out of ten hiring managers said they believe ghost job postings can boost morale, productivity, and even revenue for their companies.”
If I saw my job was posted and I knew there were no openings, I don’t think it would boost my morale and productivity.
Employers have been doing that for years.
I remember back in the 90s seeing ads for "Senior Engineers" with a PhD, ten years experience with five of that with a very specific skill set. Pay range about the same as a newly graduated engineer with a bachelor's degree. I figured either they had a specific person in mind (boss's son?) or they wanted to hire a foreigner from Asia.
Why post a job if it’s not available? Should be a crime and the punishment is a job opening for the idiot that posted its job.
Which is exactly why I would apply anyway, even if I wouldn’t take the low salary.
They are meant as a dishonest representation to investors, which means they should be prosecutable under securities fraud.
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