Man warns job candidates about 'ghost jobs' and tips on how to avoid falling for them

A man has warned candidates looking for a new role on how to avoid falling for 'ghost jobs'.

Applying for jobs can be an overwhelming task and it's so disheartening when you've sent off heaps of CVs, only to hear absolutely nothing back.

While it's demoralising to put time and effort into applications, only to feel as though you've wasted your energy, there could actually be a reason why nobody has been in touch.

Have you ever come across a ghost job advert? (Getty Stock Image)

What is a 'ghost job'?

Ghost job adverts are essentially job listings that are active online, but in reality, there's no intention to hire at all.

Over on TikTok, Ceros Whaley explained that he'd actually left a previous role because he disagreed with the company posting ghost job ads.

"I got fired from my second job because I wouldn't post a ghost job," he claimed.

"Let me explain what I did for my second job, I was a hiring manager, I usually just post job listings... for my company."

Ceros said he couldn't reveal the name of the company he worked for but having read through his NDA - AKA non-disclosure agreement - he wanted to speak out on something called 'ghost jobs'.

"I used to post those jobs for fake jobs," he said.

"To encourage our current employees to work harder.

"These jobs will be fake jobs so you can apply for the listing but you won't be hired."

Ceros explained that if you've been applying for heaps of jobs and getting nowhere, you might have been applying for ghost roles.

"[The jobs] are just put there to show that we're looking for new hires at higher rates to get our current employees to work harder as an incentive to make them work hard, as opposed to increasing the base pay or the base rate," he continued.

"I've made maybe 300 of those job listings."

Ceros said he was questioned by his manager when he said he 'didn't feel good' about posting the jobs.

"I'm not going to continue to post ghost job listings so our employees can be scared they're going to lose their jobs, that destroys their mental health deeply," he added.

Ceros said he was 'sickened and disheartened' at the trick.

The job doesn't actually exist (Getty Stock Image)

How to spot a ghost job

People rushed to the comments to ask Ceros how they could spot a ghost job advert, and the answer makes so much sense.

One person responded: "They are fairly easy to spot. Jobs that have been open for 30+ days. I just don’t apply to those. Apply to ones that were created lower than 2-3 weeks. I didn’t have any issues getting call backs."

While another said: "My route has been to hop over to the company site and apply through their site, if the job doesn't pop up in the search in their careers section it doesn't exist."

An article by Resume Genius on LinkedIn explains how to identify a ghost job and why companies post them.

It states that there are a few reasons why businesses choose to post these roles, including trying to create the perception that their company is growing; keeping an eye out for talent they want to hire and attracting applicants in case a role opens.

Resume Genius recommends checking how long the ad has been listed and contacting the company directly to try and understand if the ad is active.