Ghost Jobs Are Wreaking Havoc On Tech Workers (sfgate.com)
- Reference: 0175369831
- News link: https://slashdot.org/story/24/10/31/206209/ghost-jobs-are-wreaking-havoc-on-tech-workers
- Source link: https://www.sfgate.com/tech/article/ghost-jobs-california-tech-industry-19871249.php
> If you've recently been laid off and have started the arduous process of looking for a new job, you've probably seen them on networking platforms like LinkedIn: postings for roles that are 30 days old, maybe more, with suspiciously wide salary ranges. They usually have hundreds, or even thousands, of hopeful applicants vying for the same position, but if you do a quick cross-check and notice that the role isn't posted on the company's actual website -- or any of their social media pages -- you should probably stop drafting that cover letter, because it's possible they're not hiring at all. "Ghost jobs," or ads for positions that aren't actually open, are a common phenomenon in the tech industry, which has been plagued by layoffs and budget cuts over recent years. As unemployed workers struggle to regain their footing, recruiters and career coaches who spoke with SFGATE warned that these fake jobs posted by real companies [1]serve multiple, sometimes insidious purposes .
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> According to a 2024 survey from [2]MyPerfectResume , 81% of recruiters admitted to posting ads for positions that were fake or already filled. While some respondents said employers did it to maintain a presence on job boards and build a talent pool, it's also used to commit psychological warfare: 25% said ghost jobs helped companies gauge how replaceable their employees were, while 23% said it helped make the company appear more stable during a hiring freeze. Another damning 2024 report from [3]Resume Builder said that 62% companies posted them specifically to make their employees feel replaceable. They also made ads to "trick overworked employees" into believing that more people would be brought on to alleviate their overwhelming workload.
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> After interviewing 1,641 hiring managers, Resume Builder researchers found that 40% of employers posted fake job listings in 2024, and that three in 10 currently had ghost jobs listed. The idea to post them mostly trickled down from HR, followed by senior management and executives, their June 2024 article continued. Though the listings were posted on multiple hiring platforms, the majority of them appeared on LinkedIn and the companies' websites. Evidence suggests this trend is taking hold throughout the Bay Area, too. A [4]collaborative document circulating online reveals a growing list of employers accused of posting ghost jobs. Many of them, it turns out, are tech companies with offices based in California.
[1] https://www.sfgate.com/tech/article/ghost-jobs-california-tech-industry-19871249.php
[2] https://www.myperfectresume.com/career-center/jobs/search/recruiting-trends
[3] https://www.resumebuilder.com/3-in-10-companies-currently-have-fake-job-posting-listed/
[4] https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1nW7kbqVz8XUCRFEgH5Y60YzmoOfl7IM9w4DAhb2kcX4/edit?gid=0#gid=0
let us talk about fake resumes instead (Score:1)
let us talk about fake resumes instead
Re: (Score:1)
They usually have hundreds, or even thousands, of hopeful applicants vying for the same position where 99% are either dumbos who even do not read a job title and have zero relevant experience AND/OR try to send a totally fake resume ... dumb candidates even don't realize that multiple versions of their fake resumes are being accumulated in applicant tracking systems and they are weeded out ( and no - changing your email address or even a phone number does not help you - detection takes into account mu
Similar story six months ago (Score:3)
I thought this song and dance sounded familiar, so a quick search shows [1]a similar story [slashdot.org] from back in March about ghost job postings. I guess things haven't changed.
[1] https://slashdot.org/story/24/03/19/2125252/job-boards-are-rife-with-ghost-jobs
Not quite fraud? (Score:2)
Advertising something you don't actually have usually counts as fraud. That needs to be applied here.
Impact on labor statistics? Interest rates? (Score:2)
[1]https://www.newsweek.com/ghost... [newsweek.com]
""There is no way to tell on LinkedIn, company websites, or any of the other job posting sites whether the position is real or fake," Yarrington explained. "As a result, when data is pulled by the Department of Labor or other entities seeking job data, it is distorted. When this is reported it gives false hope and expectations to jobseekers and the overall economy.""
Data for JOLTS (Job Openings and Labor Turnover Report) is collected by the U.S. Department of Labor on a volu
[1] https://www.newsweek.com/ghost-jobs-bad-idea-employment-1929617
No impact on labor statistics, Interest rates (Score:1)
Labor statistics count the number of new unemployment applications . Those demand, the applicants fill out forms — under penalty of perjury — and provide proofs.
LinkedIn is not a source of statistics. Nor can the form you're linking to be — because it is voluntary and there is punishment neither for not filling it out, nor for lying ... But, even if it were, there is no reason, why the number of ghost jobs on LinkedIn has to match, what the same company reports to Department of Labor (if, ag
Work for minimum wage (Score:1)
Why should tech workers get paid more than a retail worker? A retail worker works much harder. So tech people can do fancy coding and a little more math, so what? Retail workers tend to be better people, btw. They're more caring about their fellow human being and of good character, that should be worth something. At some point the difficulties that investors experience when owning a company should get some appreciation. High tech worker salaries are making it more difficult to run companies. Why is it only
They are just now noticing? (Score:1)
Just in the tech industry this has always been an extremely annoying thing. So it's typical that it is an issue only now since so many "players" are suddenly less than job secure....?
There's a word for this (Score:2)
The word for this is fraud. And anyone who commits fraud needs to be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.
Also helps mask h1b hires (Score:2)
It's been said many times before, but one of the easiest ways to justify h1b hirings is to claim to have a bunch of unfilled positions that native workers can't/won't do. You can paper over the lie by creating bogus job postings for positions you intend to fill with foreign workers.
Corrective measures (Score:3)
I don't support beating children, but the people doing this kind of shit, messing with people's lives to exploit them more effecitvely?
Yes. And not just the MBA who ordered it, beat the fucking HR clerk who actually followed the orders.
Re: (Score:2)
The HR clerk probably doesn't even know the job is fake.
Re: (Score:2)
They know, because they also plan for the intake of actual hires. People who work in HR often seem like nice, social people, but they are absolutely amoral when it comes to doing what management wants them to do with employees.
Re: Corrective measures (Score:2)
Some are of the opinion that HR can be sociopaths.
unions are needed (Score:2)
Tech needs them bad
Re: (Score:2)
I would just be happy if places like linkedin or indeed started implementing personal blocklists/blacklists so we could filter out the garbage.