Ghost jobs scaring away potential workers

 Ghost jobs are an issue that has been exacerbated by the advent of the internet, particularly on sites like LinkedIn and job searching sites. For those curious about what a ghost job is (it's not a spooky job position), it's where a company will post an open position for a job that doesn't exist. The reason for such posts being advertised for companies is various; to resume farm, regulatory compliance (even if they are hiring internally, they have to post it to be open for external potential employees), and to prop up investor optics (a company hiring highlights its growing).

What are the implications of this? Well, it distorts labour market price mechanisms. A key indicator for labour statistics is the vacancy-to-unemployment ratio; these fake jobs inflate the numerator and make the job market feel tighter than it actually is.

This has created a vast resentment among job seekers who are now applying to a record number of positions to even land a single job, with stories of some people sending out hundreds of applications. This burden has mostly been shifted to those trying to enter the job market, that is, recent graduates and those returning to the job market. While overall unemployment for Gen Z is relatively low especially when compared to the peak after '08, this is primarily due to underemployment, where many workers are forced into roles under their skill level (especially in the UK, where many people are overeducated) and are forced to low paying roles where there is unpredictable hours which is not ideal for a generation to build a life on. These roles have led to; wasted time, erosion of trust, and career stagnation for many who cant lock down a job in a supposedly abundant job market.

The ghost jobs can be easy to spot for job seekers as they often follow a generic formula so if you find yourself in this position with limited time on your hand look out for the following; unresponsive leadership, a job posted for months with no correction, no hiring manager, and what seems to be copy and pasted job descriptions. 

Now this issue can be easily fixed to better the job hunting for the many that have to go through this. Firstly, legislation to discourage job postings from being posted for too long and higher transparency would fix many of the issues that ghost jobs create. But for now, they are here to stay, and are a great indicator of the rough times we are in, despite what many statisticians will tell you, so strap up your bootstraps and good luck.




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