How Do I Avoid Falling for a Ghost Job?

So, how do you separate fact from fiction? Time for a bit of amateur sleuthing.

When it comes to spotting ghost listings, there are a number of red flags to look out for. To begin with, look out for the listing date. If there isn’t one, or if it’s been online for months, that’s probably a bad sign – the company might be keeping it online to gather as many resumes as possible, rather than actually attempting to find the right candidate.

Next up, you should cross-examine the job listing with the “careers” page on the company in question’s website. Shock, horror – if it’s not on their actual website, that’s probably because it’s fake.

You should also be mindful of the sheer number of vacancies that a company is sharing. If there are several identical listings, with identical locations, that could be a sign that everything isn’t what it seems. Similarly, companies will sometimes recycle the same listings periodically to give the illusion of a new role opening up.

Another thing to keep an eye on is detail. A genuine job listing will outline roles and responsibilities, as well as qualifications and relevant experience that the company is looking for. A fake one will be a lot vaguer and might even prioritize highlighting the perks of the company at the expense of any actual information about the job. This extends to the salary. If a listing has a ridiculously wide salary range, it was probably created independently of a hiring manager and, thus, is not a real listing.