NIX Solutions: 20% of Jobs Posted Online Don’t Actually Exist

Finding a job can be tough. Confusing job boards, fierce competition, and laborious application processes make job hunting one of the most frustrating experiences on the planet. And 99.9% of the time, after all the effort you put into applying, you hear nothing back. It’s enough to make you feel like you’re applying into the abyss — as if the jobs you’re applying to never existed. According to a recent study, that may actually be true.

NIX Solutions

The Wall Street Journal cites internal data from recruiting platform Greenhouse that suggests one in five jobs posted online — between 18% and 22% — are either fake or never filled. This data comes directly from Greenhouse, which can access these statistics because it sells automated software that helps employers create job postings.

The Rise of “Ghost Jobs”

The phenomenon of “ghost jobs” has been on the rise for some time now, much to the chagrin of job seekers. The article references the experience of one unfortunate job seeker, Serena Dao, who spent over a year looking for a position. According to Dao, she applied to about 260 jobs before finally landing her current role and often wondered if the postings she saw were real.

Some observers have suggested that the practice of posting such ads is actually a corporate strategy designed to make it appear that companies are growing when they are not. Fast Company writes that the practice can help organizations “feign aggressive hiring and growth,” and help “executives hit quarterly goals without the stigma of having jobs removed from career sites.” Another Forbes commentator notes that ghost jobs inflate “the true number of jobs on the market and lengthen the job search, which frustrates many job seekers.”

Verification and the Future

The epidemic of these phantom job postings has led some platforms to treat job openings much like other online content: either A) as verified or B) as potential misinformation, notes NIX Solutions. Both Greenhouse and LinkedIn now offer job verification services, the Journal reports, which let users know whether a job posting is real or not. “It’s kind of a horror show,” John Strauss, president and co-founder of Greenhouse, told the Journal. “The job market has never been more heartbreaking.”

We’ll keep you updated on any developments regarding this troubling trend. In the meantime, it’s worth remembering that not every job posting is legitimate. This can be disheartening for many people, but it may also encourage job seekers to focus on verified opportunities, network more strategically, and ask potential employers direct questions about the status of any given role. Awareness of this issue is the first step in navigating an ever-changing job market.