“Ghost Jobs”: What’s Up with That?

The term “ghosting” originally surfaced to describe relationship situations where someone suddenly ends communication or contact with another, with no explanation. It has since extended into professional settings, including the workplace.

For instance, during the hiring process some employers have discovered that they have been ghosted by candidates who start, but don’t finish, the process—and don’t communicate about their change of heart. In some cases, this happens after the employee has accepted a job. They may never show up for work or may show up and not come back.

But employees aren’t the only ones to ghost. In fact, increasingly, employers—or potential employers—are also exhibiting these behaviors.

Ghost Jobs

One troubling trend that MyPerfectResume recently conducted research on is the tendency for recruiters to post jobs that aren’t really open—or aren’t even jobs! In fact, 81% of respondents admitted that they had posted jobs that didn’t exist—either fake or already filled.

Why?

The Impetus Behind Ghost Jobs

There are several reasons recruiters give for posting ghost jobs. They include:

• Wanting to to maintain a presence on job boards even when they aren’t hiring (38%).
• Attempting to assess the effectiveness of their job descriptions (36%).
• Hoping to build a talent pool for the future (26%).
• Trying to determine how difficult it would be to replace certain employees (25%).

While some of these reasons seem reasonable and, after all, a significant percentage of organizations appear to be posting ghost jobs from time to time, there are some potential risks to the practice.

Impact on Employer Brand

Think they’ll never find out? Think again.

Candidates are becoming savvy to the practice of listing ghost jobs. Some of the “tells” they look for include the length of time the job has been posted, how specific the job description is (vague descriptions generally suggest ghost postings), and their own due diligence.

Writing for Forbes, Caroline Castrillon says: “If the organization just announced a hiring freeze, they will unlikely fill new positions immediately. Checking the company’s social media channels is also an excellent way to confirm whether a job posting is authentic. If they are actively hiring, employers often post about their open positions. You’ll also be able to see if you have any connections that work at the company. At that point, you can network with someone you know to inquire whether they are still hiring.”

Trust and transparency are important elements of the employer-employee relationship. Relationships can be eroded if employees discover that their employer has, for example, posted their job to gauge what the market supply might be—or job applicants discover they’ve invested time and effort into applying for a job that never existed.

Think twice before you post ghost jobs. Your employer brand matters.

Lin Grensing-Pophal is a Contributing Editor at HR Daily Advisor.

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