The labor market in many countries is becoming tighter and it is becoming more difficult to find employment.
After the Covid pandemic, in places like the US, many workers could choose between several job offers, as there were vacancies that employers could not fill.
However, workers have now largely lost that possibility, amidst layoffs and budget cutsand vacant positions are becoming increasingly scarce.
Despite this, the places exist… or at least they seem to exist.
And employment pages like LinkedIn and Indeed They announce numerous vacancies. However, despite the influx of highly qualified candidates for those positions, many ads remain on digital platforms with an increasingly common label: “Published more than 30 days ago”.
While the offers may be old, job seekers generally assume that companies are hiring for those positions. But the truth is more complicated.
Some are simply advertisements for jobs that have already been filled, while others were never intended to be filled. Is about “ghost jobs” and are becoming an increasingly common and problematic obstacle for those seeking employment.
Talent and exposure
Ghost job offers have long been part of the working market.
Job fairs, for example, are reputed to attract companies that set up booths simply to serve as recruiting tools. promotion or to collect mass resumes without necessarily having a position to fill.
The problem has gotten worse in the digital age, even though technology should theoretically improve the job search process for all parties involved. The number of applicants has skyrocketed around the world in recent years as the economy becomes more difficult.
Despite the influx of candidates, a staggering number of calls they do not lead to hiring.
Revelio Labs, a US-based job intelligence company, found that the ratio of hires to each job position fell below 0.5 in 2023, meaning that more than half of the offers did not result in for an employer to hire an applicant.
Clarify Capital, a New York-based business loan provider, surveyed 1,000 hiring managers and found that Nearly 7 in 10 jobs remain open for more than 30 days and 10% remain vacant for more than half a year.
Half of respondents reported that they keep job openings open indefinitely because “They are always open to new people”. More than a third said they kept calls active to create a pool of applicants in case an employee leaves, not because a position has already become available.
Posted positions are more than just a talent vacuum cleaner that absorbs each applicant’s resume. They are also a tool to shape perception inside and outside the company.
More than 40% of hiring managers said they post jobs they are not looking to fill to give the impression that the company is growing. A similar proportion indicated that job offers are made for motivate employeeswhile 34% said jobs are posted to reassure overworked staff who may be awaiting the arrival of additional help from new staff.
“Ghost jobs are everywhere”says Geoffrey Scott, senior content and recruiting manager at Resume Geniusan American company that helps workers design their resumes.
“We discovered 1.7 million possible ghost jobs on LinkedIn in the United States alone“, he assures.
StandOut CV, a London-based career resources company, found that during 2023 more than a third of job offers in the United Kingdom were ghost jobs, appearing as offers published for more than 30 days.
“A big waste of time”
Experts warn that not all positions that look like ghost jobs are ghost jobs.
“I don’t think it’s a widespread practice for companies to advertise jobs that they don’t intend to fill,” says Annette Garsteck, a career consultant based in the United States.
A lack of recruiting resources and a staggering volume of applicants can mean that the process moves slowly and, as a result, recruiters are unable to respond to all applications.
Still, whether these ads are ghost jobs, or simply look like such, the result is similar. Job seekers end up discouraged and exhausted.
“Ghost vacancies are a huge waste of time for job seekers”Scott points out. “Filling out a single job application can take several hours, as a serious applicant will take time to research the company, customize their resume and cover letter, and then go through the process of listing all the jobs they have had and answer selection questions.
Still, despite the state of the labor market and the effort it may require, some candidates continue to submit as many applications as they canwaiting for a reply. Other job seekers say the abundance of ghost jobs has caused them to change their strategies.
Samantha, a graphic designer based in the United States, has been looking for work for three months. She assures that she started by applying in a general way, but the lack of responses from most companies has led her to be more selective when applying. She is now targeting more specific positions that fit her profile and that are likely to have fewer applicants overall.
However, she is still not sure what the correct approach. “I don’t know if it’s better to shoot and wait to hit the target or if she should be sitting there aiming and shooting, one or two requests a week.”
Ghost jobs may give employers the opportunity to bolster their image and gather resumes in the short term, but those benefits may not last.
If a potential employee feels rejected by a company from which they have never heard back, they may be afraid to apply for future opportunities at that company. Companies that post ghost jobs could end up being discarded by those employees.
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