Four in 10 companies posting ‘ghost jobs,’ frustrating applicants

COLORADO — Finding a job can be a full time job, but a new hiring trend is frustrating job-seekers and it could be wasting your time. So-called ‘ghost jobs’ are becoming commonplace on job sites and show no signs of disappearing.

More companies admit to posting jobs though they do not have any openings to fill and no plans to hire immediately. It leaves job-seekers unaware of where their application stands, with no idea if the posting is legitimate.

Steve Arahovites is one month into looking for a new job and though he’s only applied for a few positions, it is possible none of them actually exist. When we told him about the concept of ghost jobs, he immediately grew concerned about how it is wasting the time he has to find a new gig.

“That is pretty crazy, definitely frustrating. Just as far as time-consuming things go, especially with a lot of veterans transitioning out of active duty, they need a lot of time to prepare,” Arahovites said.

Arahovites is one of 2,500 people who Mt. Carmel Veterans Service Center is helping find employment.

“It’s always kind of frustrating when you think you’re very well qualified for a job, and you never hear back from the employer,” said Jon Dix, who runs the transition and employment team at Mt. Carmel.

Last week, the Federal Reserve cut interest ratesin part to protect the weakening job market. Right now, there are not as many layoffs happening, but there are also fewer companies hiring.

“So while most people who want a job have one, that’s what the unemployment rate says. For people who are looking for a job, it’s getting harder. Another thing that that we look at is wage growth and wage growth has been strong, but that’s also cooled off,” said Bill Craighead, an economist at UCCS.

The last jobs report shows the unemployment rate at 4.2 percent and Craighead acknowledges that ghost job postings could be skewing the numbers.

“Job listings are an important piece of economic data that economists look at so that does degrade the quality of that data. And one thing that economists have found is that the number of job postings has been trending upwards, which might be due to this phenomenon, so it affects how we interpret that data,” Craighead said.

Data compiled by jobs analytics firm Revelio Labs shows from 2018 through February 2024 the number of hires have consistently dropped as compared with job listings.

A recent survey conducted by Resume Builder finds40 percent of companies say they have posted a fake job listing.

“The fact that they would use that [fake] word, it does surprise me a little bit. I mean, I don’t think there’s any legal requirements that I’m aware of that when you post a job, you have to be serious about following through on it,” Craighead said.

So if ghost job postings are the new reality for those looking for a position, how can they be avoided?

“If something’s been festering online for six months, that’s that’s kind of a dead giveaway. It’s probably, you know, they’re either fishing or it’s possible somebody forgot to pull it off the website, because if you don’t go in and actively remove them, they will just stay there,” Dix said.

Networking is becoming more important as it allows the applicant to make a face-to-face connection with company representatives.

“Networking is going to be really huge, because you can, if you have a friend, or you know somebody that knows somebody in the company you’re interested in applying for, you can reach out through your network and say, ‘Hey, is this company truly looking for a project manager, a program manager, an IT specialist,'” Dix said.

While there are red flags to look for, it is entirely possible you could still be applying to a ghost job. So, Dix says, research the company and do what you can to learn whether the job is legit.

Mt. Carmel has a job fair coming up if you’re looking for a new position. It will be held December 4 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Mt. Carmel Veterans Service Center.

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