Job searching is hard enough, but people are also being warned against 'ghost jobs' that are popping up.
When it comes to finding a new role, it can be an absolute minefield.
Rather than rocking up to a company's HQ and posting your resume through the door, nowadays job-searchers have to go through the arduous process of online applications instead.
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And with this comes a whole host of new problems, namely ghost jobs.
While this isn’t the idea that companies simply ignore you after you have taken the time to jump through all their hoops, it is equally as frustrating.
What is a 'ghost job'?
The term actually refers to an advertisement for a job that doesn’t exist. They are also referred to as ‘fake’ or ‘phantom’ jobs as well.
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Resume Builder conducted a survey earlier this year and found some disturbing trends when it came to ghost jobs.
It found that of 649 hiring managers, a staggering 40 percent of their companies had listed a fake job advertisement this year.
How to avoid 'ghost jobs'
Thankfully, content creator Ceros Whaley (@cerostv) has shared a video warning job hopefuls on how to avoid these ghost jobs in the first place.
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He said: "The posting date is very important to telling. If it was posted four days ago, five days ago, there’s a high chance that you shouldn’t click on that link."
Ceros - who apparently left a previous role because he disagreed with the company posting ghost job ads - added that notices that add ‘we’re hiring, we’re hiring now,’ show too much urgency.
Job ads with no time stamp at all should also be avoided, according to the content creator.
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To avoid dealing with the whole weird practice in the first place he advised getting more information from the source.
Ceros advised job searchers to call up companies and attempt to get connected to hiring managers or departments to figure out which jobs are definitely available.
He did admit that this can often prove to be a very long process but it could help avoid the situation of applying for a job that doesn’t actually exist.
In the comments, social media users retold their own stories regarding ghost jobs as well as sharing additional advice.
One user wrote: "My main tactic is to check the company website. If a job is on Indeed, but not the career section of the company website, I ignore the listing."
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Another commented: "ALSO companies are posting jobs they have no intention of hiring for. They already have someone in mind but are required to post it and interview others anyway."
While a third claimed: "HR Director used to constantly post ghost jobs to make the business look like it was doing better than it was."
Happy job hunting!
Gerrard Kaonga