The rising trend of ghost jobs has gained significant attention after a social media user shared a personal anecdote. These are jobs that are “open” on the company website but don't actually exist.
The user, Maureen W Clough, shared a note on Thread, where she revealed that the HR personnel of her company asked her to continue interviewing candidates for a ghost job.
Sharing details, she wrote, “There's a new super cool trend in tech: ghost jobs... I was a hiring manager with a new position to fill. As I went through the process with candidates, a buddy said, 'Hey, do you know there's a hiring freeze?' I went to HR, who confirmed… then told me to keep going with interviews since the req “might” be reopened. NOPE. I refused to waste candidates' time & my own.”
What is a Ghost Job?
Ghost jobs are the vacancies that a company advertises but has no intention of filling. The reason for this may vary from company to company.
One possible explanation is that a company may be unable to budget for hiring new employees during that specific period, while another reason could be to assess the talent pool available in the market.
There is also a possibility that these “open jobs” have been posted earlier for an upcoming position, which is not currently available or will not exist at all.
Many companies that freeze the hiring process still have job postings listed.
As per a study by Harvard Business School, the rise of employees quitting during the pandemic and its economic uncertainty might have increased the number of ghost jobs.
The study also added that it might be due to companies being unsure of the future and hiring new people.
It is worth noting that several ghost job listings don't even have a job description but include a long list of perks to convince a candidate to apply.
How can you tell if the job is real or not?
Genuine job postings will always include specific details about the expectations for the role, qualifications and responsibilities. Therefore, if a candidate comes across a vague job description, which reads like a generic template, then that is your clue.
When a candidate applies for a job and doesn't get a response for weeks or even months in some cases then that means he/she fell for a ghost job.
If a candidate comes across the same job opening repeatedly over an extended period could also serve as a warning sign.