COMP NEWS – An astounding 81% of recruiters say that their employers post fake jobs for positions that don’t exist or aren’t currently hiring according to a recent survey from MyPerfectResume.

About 81% of recruiters say that their employer posts “ghost jobs,” or positions that either don’t exist or are already filled, according to a new report from MyPerfectResume, a resume building platform. Jasmine Escalera, a career expert for MyPerfectResume, says this figure is staggering, and discouraging for candidates looking to land a new role.

 

“We often hear job-seekers saying, ‘I’m tired, I’m depressed, I’m desperate,’ using these very harsh words when it comes to the job market,” she says. “This is one of the reasons why they are losing faith in organizations and companies.”

 

Not only are recruiters fessing up to the tactic, they’re also admitting to how common it is. Around 17% say up to three quarters of their job announcements aren’t genuine, while 21.5% say ghost jobs account for half of all positions they post, 36% say a quarter of their postings are fake or already filled, and 18% of headhunters report that less than one tenth of their work advertisements aren’t real.

Why lie? More than one-third claim they do so to assess the effectiveness of their job listings. One-fourth do so to stock up on a talent pool for future hirings, whenever they may occur.

It may seem counterproductive for recruiters to advertise ghost jobs, theoretically wasting their own time as well as that of applicants—but there are incentives for doing so. About 38% say they post fake positions to maintain a presence on job boards when they aren’t hiring, 36% do so to assess the effectiveness of their job descriptions, 26% want to build a talent pool for the future, 26% hope gain insight into the job market and competitors, and 25% want to assess how difficult it would be to replace certain employees, according to the report. Escalera points out that a big reason for posting these jobs is recruiters wanting to improve their business’ image—nearly a quarter also say that fake jobs help their companies look as if they aren’t experiencing a hiring freeze, and one fifth say they post ghost jobs to improve the reputation of their company.

“Companies are trying to project ‘We’re okay, we’re still maintaining hiring, that we’re still moving in a growth-oriented trend. In this market, our organization is doing well.’ That ties into why these fake jobs might be appearing more from a comforting perspective,” she says. “It really is about the business, the bottom line, showing growth, showing trends, and how that can connect to maintaining profit.”

To read more about the recruiters who post fake job listings, click here.

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