The Deceptive Rise of Ghost Jobs in Hiring 👻

The Deceptive Rise of Ghost Jobs in Hiring

PODCAST: Ghost jobs, or job postings for positions that companies have no intention of immediately or ever filling, have become a frustrating reality in the current job market. This phenomenon is not entirely new, but its prevalence and visibility have increased in recent years, particularly in the tech industry, driven by various factors. 

There is no direct evidence linking ghost job postings to specific cases of suicide, but the mental health toll of the modern job search—exacerbated by ghost jobs—is well documented and deeply concerning.

🧠 Mental Health Impact of Ghost Jobs

According to a Forbes report:

• 72% of job seekers say the job search has harmed their mental health.
• 32% cite ghost jobs as a major source of frustration.
• 44% report being ghosted by employers as one of their biggest stressors.
• Many experience anxiety, depression, and burnout due to repeated rejection or silence.

🧨 Emotional Fallout

The emotional effects include:

• Loss of self-worth from applying to dozens or hundreds of jobs with no response.
• Paranoia and distrust in the hiring process.
• Exhaustion and hopelessness, especially for those in financially precarious situations.

⚠️ Suicide Risk Context

While suicide is a complex issue with many contributing factors—mental illness, financial stress, social isolation—chronic unemployment and job search stress are known risk factors. Ghost jobs can amplify these stressors by:

• Creating false hope.
• Wasting time and emotional energy.
• Undermining trust in the system.

That said, no public studies or reports have confirmed a direct causal link between ghost jobs and suicide. But the indirect psychological damage is real and increasingly acknowledged by mental health professionals and policymakers.

See Bryan Robinson, Ph.D. for details.

Ghost jobs, which are defined as job listings for positions that do not actually exist or that companies have no intention of filling, have a significant negative impact on job seekers.

The primary ways ghost jobs affect job seekers include:

• Wasted Time and Resources: Job seekers spend a considerable amount of time and effort crafting applications for roles that are not real. This can involve up to ten hours writing resumes, which many employers expect to be tailored to specific jobs. Some applicants even pay professionals between $200 and $1,000 to write their resumes, all of which is wasted if the job is a ghost listing.
• Missed Opportunities and Hindered Career Progression: Ghost jobs can divert a job seeker’s time and energy away from genuine opportunities. Given that 75% of job applicants don’t hear back from employers after applying, ghost jobs contribute to this lack of communication, causing candidates to miss out on real jobs while pursuing non-existent ones.
• Stress and Low Confidence: Applying for jobs is inherently stressful, and ghost jobs exacerbate this by creating a false sense of hope that ultimately leads to disappointment. Candidates feel strung along, waiting for responses for roles that will never materialize, which can reduce their confidence in the job market.
• Financial Instability: For unemployed individuals or those between jobs, timely responses and speedy recruitment are crucial for maintaining financial stability and keeping up with the cost of living. Ghost jobs prolong the job search process, leading to financial strain, which can be particularly severe for candidates in urgent need of employment. Eighty-one percent of job seekers report feeling stressed about their financial situation, with dead-end job searches contributing to worries about paying mortgages, supporting families, and retirement.
• Erosion of Trust: Persistent exposure to ghost jobs can lead to a loss of faith in employers and recruitment platforms, making candidates more skeptical and less likely to fully engage with the application process. When candidates apply for jobs and receive no feedback, they often feel misled and frustrated, which can damage a company’s employer brand and discourage future applications. Research shows that 80% of candidates are discouraged from applying to companies that didn’t provide feedback on a previous application, and 50% might even avoid purchasing a company’s products or services after a poor candidate experience.

“Ghost jobs,” also known as phantom jobs, are job listings for positions that do not actually exist or that companies have no intention of filling. These roles may appear on company websites, social media, or job boards but are not actively being filled. Research indicates they are a widespread issue, with some studies estimating that as many as 80% of recruiters admit to posting fake jobs, and nearly 40% of hiring managers doing so between January and May 2024 alone.

Companies post ghost jobs for a variety of reasons, which can be strategic or accidental:

• Building a Talent Pipeline: Many employers post ghost jobs to collect resumes, personal information, and skills assessment results from qualified candidates, creating a pool of potential hires for future needs or in case of turnover. A Clarify Capital survey found that 50% of hiring managers admitted to posting ghost jobs solely for this purpose. Some companies are “always open to new people” or post “in case an irresistible candidate applies”.
• Impression of Growth and Visibility: Companies may post fake jobs to give the impression that the company is growing, thriving, or open to external talent, which can impress employees, customers, or investors. They may also do this to maintain a presence on job boards or improve online visibility even when not actively hiring.
• Employee Motivation and Replaceability: Some employers use ghost jobs to create a sense of replaceability for existing employees, hoping to motivate them to work harder. Studies indicate that 62% of respondents posted ghost jobs to make employees feel replaceable, and 77% reported an uptick in productivity among workers who were scared of losing their jobs.
• Market Intelligence and Competitive Landscape: Employers may post ghost positions to gather market intelligence, assess the competitive landscape, and track the types of applicants they can attract, their skill levels, and even salary expectations, without committing to hiring anyone.
• Compliance and Illusion of Fairness: Companies sometimes post jobs publicly to appear compliant with regulations or to give the illusion of fairness, even when they have already chosen someone internally. For example, UK skilled worker visa laws may require companies to prove no suitable local candidates are available before sponsoring international candidates, leading to public postings for roles already internally filled.
• Administrative Errors and Changes in Hiring Decisions: A significant portion of ghost jobs are the result of companies forgetting to delist closed positions or experiencing shifts in budget, restructuring, or hiring freezes.
• Cost Cutting: Companies with high attrition rates may use ghost jobs as a calculated way to cut recruitment costs by avoiding the expense of new listings, staffing recruiters, and funding HR resources.

The practice of “weaponizing job openings” has historical precedents dating back over a century:

• Late 19th Century Industrialists: Similar strategies were employed by industrialists like Andrew Carnegie, who instructed his chairman to flood local newspapers with inflated job postings. This created the illusion of labor abundance to weaken worker leverage and break union power, particularly during the Homestead steel mill strike. These ads were used to attract replacement workers (scabs) by promising work, high wages, and better conditions, without disclosing the ongoing strike. This tactic became a blueprint for industrialists to suppress labor movements nationwide.
• Civil Rights Era and Equal Opportunity Ads: After executive orders in the 1960s mandated fair employee treatment, companies began including “equal opportunity employer” claims in job postings to signal fairness and show they were based on merit, free from prejudice. However, these listings were often used for government compliance or to simply flood job boards, creating the impression of offering opportunities when no one was actually being hired. This practice evolved into a “tool for social manipulation rather than just a pathway for employment”. For instance, a 1966 case showed an electrician position re-advertised after an applicant was told it was filled, with an investigation concluding it was for “government compliance” and no white individuals were visible in the plant.
• 1980s and Blind Job Ads: With globalization, automation, and mass outsourcing, power shifted in the labor market to hiring managers. Companies started using “blind job ads,” which provided no information about the hiring company, to quietly test the labor market, collect resumes, and build leverage. These were sometimes used to facilitate external hires while preventing internal employee morale issues, and are seen as early forms of ghost jobs.
• Rise of the Internet and Modern Job Platforms: The advent of online platforms like Monster, CareerBuilder, LinkedIn, and Indeed fundamentally transformed recruiting into an “endless volume” process due to their low cost and wide reach. In the aftermath of the 2009 financial crisis, companies quickly realized the incentive of listing non-existent jobs given the millions of applicants desperate for work. A 2013 Wall Street Journal article described these as “Phantom jobs”.
• Data Harvesting and Scams in the Digital Age: Modern ghost jobs are also created for data harvesting, where accepting terms and conditions for job applications can unknowingly sign away personal data to be packaged and sold to brokers. Companies like Equifax have assembled powerful private databases of American personal information from thousands of HR departments. Furthermore, the collapse of in-person hiring during the 2020 global crisis forced millions onto these platforms, leading to a significant rise in job scams and fake employment agency fraud, nearly tripling from 2020 to 2024. LinkedIn has been criticized for allowing literally anyone to post fake listings under a company’s account, making them nearly indistinguishable from official ones, which scammers have exploited to solicit money or personal information.

Why Companies Post Ghost Jobs:

Companies engage in this practice for a range of reasons, including: 

• Building a Candidate Pipeline: Keeping a pool of potential hires on hand for future needs, allowing them to fill positions quickly when they arise.
• Creating an Illusion of Growth: Advertising multiple open positions to project an image of expansion and attract investors or improve company perception.
• Assessing Market Talent: Posting jobs to gauge the availability of talent, salary expectations, and skill levels in the industry.
• Meeting Internal Hiring Policies: Some large organizations and government agencies are required to post jobs publicly even if they have an internal candidate in mind.
• Motivating Existing Employees: Creating a sense of competition or hinting at potential replacements to encourage higher productivity.
• Market Research: Using job postings to understand current compensation expectations for specific roles.
• Gaming Job Board Algorithms: Maintaining a presence on job boards to improve visibility and attract attention, even without immediate hiring needs. 

Impact on Job Seekers:

The rise of ghost jobs significantly impacts job seekers, leading to: 

• Wasted Time and Resources: Job seekers invest considerable effort into applying for roles that don’t exist, including crafting resumes and cover letters, preparing for interviews, and sometimes completing technical challenges.
• Erosion of Trust and Motivation: Repeatedly encountering ghost jobs can be demoralizing, leading to frustration, skepticism towards employers and recruitment platforms, and a loss of faith in the job search process.
• Skewed Labor Market Data: Ghost jobs artificially inflate the number of open positions, distorting labor market data and making it difficult for individuals and policymakers to accurately assess employment trends. 

Identifying Ghost Jobs:

While it can be challenging to determine a ghost job with certainty, there are some warning signs to look out for: 

• Job Posting Has Been Active for Months: Legitimate positions are usually filled within a reasonable timeframe. If a posting remains active for an extended period, it may be a ghost job.
• No Sense of Urgency in the Hiring Process: Active hiring processes tend to move quickly. If there are long delays between steps or vague responses, it may be a sign the company is not serious about filling the role.
• Job Is Always Open for the Same Position: Companies posting the same role repeatedly without any hires may be using it to build a talent pool.
• Vague or Generic Job Description: Ghost jobs often lack specific details about responsibilities, qualifications, and expectations.
• Interview Process Leads to No Decision: Going through multiple interview rounds without a final outcome could indicate the position was never intended to be filled.
• Company Continuously States They Are “Collecting Resumes”: This often indicates the absence of an immediate hiring need. 

Legal and Ethical Considerations:

While ghost jobs are generally not illegal in most jurisdictions, they are considered unethical and deceptive. However, there is growing pressure for greater transparency in hiring practices, with some regions and platforms implementing measures to curb misleading job postings. For instance, New York City has implemented salary transparency laws that indirectly help address this issue. 

Navigating Ghost Jobs:

Job seekers can take proactive steps to minimize the impact of ghost jobs by: 

• Researching the Company: Checking their hiring history and employee reviews for patterns of ghost postings.
• Inquiring About the Hiring Timeline: Seeking specific information about the hiring process from recruiters.
• Focusing on Recent Postings: Prioritizing newly posted jobs that are more likely to be active.
• Diversifying Job Search Methods: Exploring networking opportunities and direct applications in addition to online job boards. 

By understanding the tactics behind ghost jobs and adopting strategic approaches, job seekers can navigate the job market more effectively and avoid falling prey to deceptive listings. Companies, in turn, should consider the long-term impact on their reputation and prioritize ethical hiring practices. 

The rise of “ghost jobs”—job postings for positions that either don’t exist or aren’t actively being filled—has sparked growing concern in the U.S., but there’s no solid evidence that they represent an organized adversarial attempt to disrupt the country. However, their impact on the labor market and public trust is significant enough that some experts and lawmakers are treating them as a systemic threat to economic transparency.

🕵️ What Are Ghost Jobs?

Ghost jobs are:

• Listings for roles that companies have no immediate intention to fill.
• Sometimes used to collect résumés, gauge talent pools, or signal growth to investors.
• Occasionally the result of outdated listings or automated reposting by job boards.

🧠 Why They Matter

• Distorts labor market data: Ghost jobs can inflate job opening statistics, making it harder for policymakers (like the Federal Reserve) to assess the true state of employment.
• Wastes job seekers’ time: Applicants invest effort into roles that don’t exist, leading to frustration and disillusionment.
• Potential for data harvesting: Some postings may be used to collect personal information under false pretenses.

🛡️ Legislative Response

The proposed Truth in Job Advertising and Accountability Act (TJAAA) aims to:

• Require transparency about hiring intent, salary, and AI usage.
• Prohibit knowingly false or speculative listings.
• Enforce penalties through the Department of Labor and FTC.
• Extend jurisdiction to foreign actors targeting U.S. job seekers.

🧩 Could It Be Adversarial?

While there’s no direct evidence of foreign adversaries using ghost jobs as a coordinated tactic, the potential for abuse exists:

• Foreign entities could post fake listings to harvest data or sow economic confusion.
• Domestic misuse already undermines trust in the job market, which could be exploited by adversaries.

So while ghost jobs are primarily a byproduct of corporate behavior and flawed systems, their cumulative effect could be adversarial in nature, especially if weaponized intentionally.

#economicwarfare

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