Worried ‘ghost’ jobs will scare off applicants? Tips for reassuring jobseekers

If potential employees seem a bit wary these days, it should come as no surprise. Jobseekers have likely heard the increasingly common reports of companies posting ads for fake, or “ghost,” jobs. Such employer tactics can fuel resentment and cynicism among the pool of potential employees—a problem no employer wants.

Disturbing trend

Employers have long complained of being short-staffed and unable to find enough workers. Online job postings and even old-fashioned “Help Wanted” and “Always Hiring” signs in employers’ windows seem to be everywhere, but not all the employers advertising jobs are actually hiring.

In May, Resume Builder, an online resource for jobseekers, released results of a survey showing the prevalence of companies that post fake job ads. The company surveyed 649 hiring managers and found approximately 40% said their company had posted a fake job listing this year, and 70% of those surveyed considered posting fake jobs morally acceptable.

Jobseekers would likely disagree. After all, why should they waste their time on an employer that’s not hiring?

The Resume Builder survey found that the fake job listings were most often for entry- or midlevel positions, followed by senior-level and executive-level roles. Sometimes employers contacted the people applying for the ghost jobs, and they were often even interviewed, according to survey respondents.

Why post ghosts?

Why would an employer post a job it doesn’t intend to fill? According to Resume Builder, companies post ghost jobs for several reasons.

One major reason: to make overworked employees think their employer is trying to provide relief by adding staff. Also, sometimes employers want to keep employees on their toes by making them feel replaceable.

Other reasons include wanting to appear open to bringing in external talent or creating an illusion that the company is growing. Also, sometimes employers post ads because they want to collect résumés for later use.

Most of the survey respondents (65%) said posting fake job listings resulted in a positive impact on employee morale, but others (21%) said the practice had no impact on morale, and still others (12%) reported a negative impact. A few others weren’t sure of the effect of ghost ads.

The survey also asked about the effect on productivity, with 77% reporting a positive impact, 14% reporting no impact, 8% reporting a negative impact, and 1% weren’t sure.

Most (68%) respondents reported the practice had a positive impact on revenue, 23% saw no impact, 7% saw a negative impact, and 2% weren’t sure.

Getting job posts right

With all the fake job posts circulating, how can employers that want to fill legitimate openings reassure potential employees? Carefully preparing job descriptions is a start.

LinkedIn is among the organizations with tips. The career site analyzed how its millions of members interacted with job posts to see what candidates look for when evaluating those posts. Among the findings:

• Shorter posts were more likely to result in applications than longer ones. LinkedIn found that posts with no more than 150 words got candidates to apply 17.8% more frequently than posts with 450 to 600 words.
• Candidates appreciate knowing what the employer expects. A post should include explicit goals that the new hire will be expected to achieve. LinkedIn suggests talking to stakeholders to determine realistic, concrete, and quantifiable achievements to include in a job post.
• Gender-neutral language matters. LinkedIn found that men applied to jobs they viewed 13% more frequently than women. A study reported in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology found that job descriptions with more masculine words attracted less interest from women. LinkedIn suggests avoiding terms like “strong,” “assertive,” and “ninja.”
• Candidates want information on pay, qualifications, and exactly what kind of work they would do if they landed the job.

Job search site Indeed also offers tips, including:

• If a job description is bringing in too many unqualified candidates, include a list of must-have requirements and a specific salary or salary range. Also, highlight special requirements, such as whether the job includes working nights or weekends and whether frequent travel is part of the job.
• If a description isn’t bringing in enough candidates, examine the words and phrases used. Specific titles such as “customer service representative” and “senior software engineer” are more effective than titles people are less likely to search for, such as “customer service ninja” or “software engineer VI.” Another way to attract high-quality candidates is to include unique benefits or perks and career advancement opportunities, as well as the impact the job will have on the company.

Tammy Binford writes and edits news alerts and newsletter articles on labor and employment law topics for BLR web and print publications.