My buddy in HR dropped a stat about ghost jobs that has me questioning everything

He told me over 40% of job listings on big sites like LinkedIn are fake or already filled, and I found an article from 2024 backing that up. On one hand it makes sense companies want to look like they're growing, but on the other hand it wastes hours of people's time applying. Do you guys think we should just ignore online listings and only network instead, or am I overreacting?

3 comments

3 Comments

barbarahill2mo ago

Oh man, that stat hits hard. I spent three hours last week tailoring a cover letter for a 'Senior Marketing Lead' role that I'm 90% sure was a ghost job. I even had my cat help me pick out a professional Zoom background for the interview that never came. At this point, I feel like networking is the only way to go, but I also have zero charisma and my idea of networking is sending a LinkedIn message that says 'hello' and then panicking.

the_michael1mo ago

Actually read a piece in The Atlantic last month about how companies are posting fake jobs just to look like they're growing or to keep current employees nervous. It's happening way more than people admit. Your cat picking the Zoom background got me because I literally did the same thing with my dog for a role that turned out to be a "we're always hiring" placeholder. The networking thing is brutal too - I tried the whole "connect and ask about their day" approach and just ended up staring at my screen for twenty minutes.

the_lucas2mo ago

My cat helped me pick out a professional Zoom background" is the most relatable thing I've ever read.