Survey: Job Seekers Beware of Ghost Jobs
Does a "job opening" mean something different today than it used to in the past?
Key Takeaways
- 68% of managers had job postings active for more than 30 days
- 1 in 10 managers has had a job posting open for over 6 months
- 1 in 5 managers don’t plan to fill open job positions until 2023
- 50% of managers keep job postings open because they’re “always open to new people”
Some career counselors believe the longer a job remains posted, the higher the chances of that job being a "ghost job."
How are job seekers supposed to know what jobs are real? Which jobs have companies clearly stopped hiring for? Why are employers doing this?
To explore the phenomena, we surveyed over 1,000 managers involved in the hiring process to understand the intent behind ghost jobs.
How Should Employees Avoid Applying for “Ghost Jobs”?
Joe Mercurio, project manager at Clarify Capital believes... "Anyone looking to avoid applying for ‘ghost jobs’ should pay close attention to when they were first posted. Despite 96% of employers claiming they’re actively trying to fill an open role quickly, 40% of employers don’t expect to fill their active job posts for 2-3 months. In fact, 1 in 10 managers reports having job openings posted for over 6 months. This can happen for many different reasons, but checking to see when a job was posted could help prevent job seekers from applying for ‘ghost jobs. A job that was posted 48 hours ago is more likely to be actively hiring than a job that was posted 3 months ago.’”
Why Do Employers Post “Ghost Jobs”?
Mercurio says: “Employers post “ghost jobs” for a variety of reasons. Around half of companies keep job postings open because they are always open to new people, but 43% aren’t actively trying to fill positions because they want to keep employees motivated or they want to give off the impression that the company is growing. Whatever the reason, it definitely looks like many companies are not actively trying to fill the positions they have posted right now.”
Methodology
We surveyed 1,045 managers involved in the hiring process about ghost jobs. The survey was conducted between August 31, 2022 – September 1, 2022.
About Clarify Capital
Clarify Capital helps business owners secure the fast business financing to fund their unique ambitions. With this foundation and support in place business owners can be more than just owners – they can truly become entrepreneurs, visionaries, and innovators.
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