What is a “ghost” job offer and how to spot one ?

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Are you familiar with ghost job offers?? If not, you should know that they are simply fake ads for a job that does not exist. This article will be an opportunity to review the reasons that push an employer to adopt this type of strategy and how to spot them.

Why use such a tactic??

Let us first point out that this is a technique that is increasingly used in the job market. According to the 2024 State of Job Hunting report from the Greenhouse employment platform, three out of five job seekers say they have encountered them.

These ghost offers are particularly present in the construction sector (average rate of 38%), but also in art (34%), and legal jobs (29%). According to the Wall Street Journal, 70% of U.S. companies admitted to using them at least once in the second quarter of 2024.

There are several reasons cited for ghost job postings. In some cases, a company may simply forget to remove a job posting for a job that has already been filled.

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Other times, the company intends to find a solution internally, but is legally required to post a job. Some organizations will finally post fake offers to give the impression to outside observers that the company is growing.

How to spot a ghost job offer ?

Interviewed by Fortune, Peter Duris, CEO and co-founder of the Kickresume platform, gave some advice to job seekers on how to spot these fake ads.

In particular, he suggests checking the date on which an offer was submitted. If it dates back several months, this should put you on alert, especially since most positions are filled fairly quickly, the expert specifies.

If you notice that an offer is published very frequently, there is also something fishy going on. Be wary, especially if the ad is posted “faster than a company's normal hiring pace,” says Peter Duris.

Finally, you can look at reviews posted on recruiting platforms to see if there are any comments that flag a company's behavior and whether it has posted fake jobs in the past.

The problem is in any case very real and the specialist also believes that the major job sites could deploy more robust verification systems to eliminate this type of practice in the future.

What to remember:

• Fake job offers are becoming commonplace
• There are several reasons for this development
• Candidates can spot them by observing certain details

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