You applied for 80 jobs but heard back from three companies? There’s nothing wrong with you and it’s not just in your head – it’s them. Companies are ghosting applicants like it’s Halloween and we’re not even trick-or-treating.

Keep reading to know how you can spot those ghost jobs (and identify notorious companies to avoid - ha!).

Then, you can spend your precious time applying for jobs in companies that value their applicants - may reflect that they also value their people, right?

In this issue:

Ghosting and ghost jobs

Why do companies post fake job ads?

Clues to spotting ghost jobs

What you can do

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✨Key takeaways

Avoid ghost jobs by verifying if the job ad is real; apply early; track no-response by source/company; reach out to humans — hiring team and your network.

Ghosting and ghost jobs

Ghosting and ghost jobs are two concerns that job applicants continue to face today and I’m pretty sure you’re familiar with these.

Ghosting happens when you apply for a job and get interviewed then abruptly hear nothing from the recruiter. Some even experience reaching the pre-employment stage and suddenly get ghosted. 

Let’s take Reig’s case for example. He applied and got interviewed by a Talent Acquisition based in the Philippines and in Latin America, for his first and final interviews, respectively. He spent a hundred dollars for the pre-employment requirements and even visited the company’s office. 

Afterwards, nothing, nada. He already gave all his personal information and spent his own money for clearance certificates and medical tests. Top-notch ghosting right there. 

Has it ever happened to you or any of your peers?

As for ghost jobs, these are job ads for roles that are fake, frozen, already filled, or being used to build talent pipelines without the intention to actually hire immediately.

Ghost jobs have been around since pre-pandemic and have constantly  increased in numbers until now.

Companies admit to doing it purposely. 

Why do companies post fake job ads?

When Clarify Capital scraped almost 200,000 jobs across a famous job aggregator, they found out that 1 in 7 job posts are ghost jobs. Senior-level roles get ghosted the most, contributing to 21% of the posted jobs to be ghost posts.

This is further confirmed around LinkedIn, that ghost jobs are also prevalent in the UK. It’s also happening in Asia as international and multinational companies are spread across the globe.

Companies post fake job ads for the following reasons:

1. Pipeline building - They are collecting resumes for roles that might open in the future. Your resume goes into their folders but you won’t hear back from them.

2. Growth signalling - Some organizations post pages of job ads to show investors and competitors that they look healthy and are growing. 

3. Compliance fulfillment - They already picked an internal candidate but they are required to post the “vacancy” externally.

4. Market testing - Companies want to see which talents are available and what salary people are willing to accept, without the intention of actually hiring applicants.

5. Pacifying employees or keeping them on the edge - This is a double-edged sword. The company shows existing employees that the company has additional headcount – more help is coming. On the flipside, they are signalling that people are replaceable.

Clues to spotting a ghost job

Figures from Greenhouse, Clarify Capital, and LinkedIn show that 1-in-7 to 1-in-4 job ads are ghost jobs. This may differ depending on platform and industry.

For Healthcare and education, an estimated 50% of new roles never result in a hire and for the Information Technology sector, around 48%. 

Don’t be caught in this trap. 

Here are 5 warning signs and red flags, according to Fortune and Forbes. 

1. Check the timestamp if it’s more than 30 days old - Most roles usually get filled around 30 - 45 days. If it’s more than 90 days, chances are that it is never meant to be filled. Filter the job posts to “past week” and prioritize those posted within the last 3 days.

2. Visit the companies’ own websites or social media pages. Aggregator job boards like Indeed have delays. LinkedIn may still show the job ad even when it is no longer available.

3. The job post disappears and reappears - If you frequently visit job aggregators, you will notice some job posts from specific companies go on and off for months. This is pipeline building - not worth your time. 

4. Same goes with 100-day old postings from the company, even those that are on their website. If you see old job ads on the company’s own website, think about how they treat their postings – and applicants.

5. The job post is posted everywhere except the company’s own page or social media page. It’s a sign that the company is just collecting resumes.

What you can do

Start optimizing for verification – quality over quantity

• Verify first, apply next. Spend two minutes on the company careers page or social media page before every application.

• Apply early. Real roles receive many applications early. Applying within the first 3 days matters more than a perfect cover letter on day 20. (Some companies use ATS. Optimize your resume for ATS with our guide here)

• Go around the posting. Find one person on the team (this takes about five minutes on LinkedIn) and send a short, specific message. A real hiring team responds to signals. A ghost job can’t respond at all – which tells you a lot already.

• Track your no-response rate by source. If a specific job board keeps posting ghost jobs, stop using it. When you save a job application on Aspeeria, you can tag if you received no feedback from the company.

• Ask your network for advice or feedback. Speaking with a human is always a good idea. You may reach out to people you know or contact the company via email or phone call to know whether the company is serious about hiring people.

Jasmine Escalera, a career coach and recruitment expert based in Miami, advises that people try to network with hiring managers. 

"You will know a position is real if you're having conversations with real humans who work at that organisation," she says.

But she adds that you should also look for red flags. "If you see that a job is being posted multiple times during a certain time frame, or that the job posting has been open for a while, then it is possible the posting is staying open because the job is not intended to be filled."

Now, on to you. Before your next application, cross check if the listing on the job board or aggregator shows on the company’s career page or LinkedIn. If it’s not there, spend your precious time on a posting that’s real.

For those job ads that you want to save and apply for, use Aspeeria so you can track all your applications in one place. Update the status and prepare for the application and interview by using our AI-powered tool. 

Sign up to the beta today. I’ll see you there!

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