What Is 'Ghost Jobs' And Why You Should Be Concerned

In recent times, there has been a growing trend of companies leaving job postings open even after filling positions or posting listings without genuine intent to hire. These phantom job postings, commonly referred to as “ghost jobs,” are often used by companies to build a talent pool and generate interest without actual vacancies. Consequently, candidates may find themselves receiving no response from companies, leading to frustration. Amidst the proliferation of “ghost jobs,” a Threads user recently shed light on the reality of this phenomenon within the tech industry.

The user named Maureen W Clough who works as a hiring manager shared a detailed post, explaining the overall system of “ghost jobs.” She opened up on how she had to continue interviewing candidates despite having a ‘hiring freeze’ in the company.

“There’s a new super cool trend in tech: ghost jobs. What are these? Well, they’re jobs that are “open” on the company website, but don’t actually exist. How do I know? Well…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,” she wrote.

She also shared a video link, giving a more detailed approach to understanding ghost jobs. Describing it as a “new horrific trend” that is running rampant at tech companies, Maureen shared how she refused to carry on with the practices. “Not only is this a waste of MY time as an employee, but it is also horrible to do to candidates,” she wrote on Instagram.

Since being shared, the post has gained a lot of attention on social media, with many dropping their views on the ongoing trend of ghost jobs and how it has affected employees. “This is not a new trend. It’s been going on for at least three decades that I know of,” a user wrote, while another one commented, “I’ve known about this sort of thing for a long time. It’s soul crushing to try to find a job in the first place, never mind all the functionally fake job listings. I can’t cast as wide a net as I used to be able to, and now the fake listings are clogging up indeed and other sites and I don’t know which ones are actually hiring. I’m so tired.”

“I think this is happening in every industry,” a third user commented.