Ghost Jobs in 2025: How to Spot Fake Job Postings and Protect Your Time

The Hidden Epidemic Wasting Millions of Hours

You've spent two hours perfecting your resume, crafting a tailored cover letter, and researching the company. You hit submit with cautious optimism, only to hear... nothing. Weeks pass. The job posting remains active. You start to wonder: Was this job ever real?

If this sounds familiar, you're not alone—and you're not imagining things. According to a 2024 Resume Builder survey, 40% of companies admitted to posting fake job listings that year ¹. Even more alarming, MyPerfectResume found that 81% of recruiters acknowledge their employers post ads for jobs that either don't exist or are already filled ².

Welcome to the era of ghost jobs—and it's costing job seekers billions in wasted time and emotional energy.

What Exactly Is a Ghost Job?

A ghost job is a job posting that a company has no genuine intention of filling—at least not anytime soon. Unlike job scams designed to steal your personal information, ghost jobs come from legitimate companies. They're not illegal, but they're increasingly frustrating job seekers navigating an already challenging market.

The scale of this problem is staggering. Research from Revelio Labs found that the ratio of hires per job posting dropped from 0.75 in 2018 to below 0.5 in 2023—meaning one in two job postings now don't result in a hire ³. Hunter Ng's academic research at Baruch College, using machine learning analysis of nearly 270,000 Glassdoor reviews, found that approximately 21% of job ads are ghost jobs ⁴.

Why Companies Post Ghost Jobs

Understanding why companies post ghost jobs can help you spot them. According to the Resume Builder survey, hiring managers cited these reasons ¹:

• 67% want to appear open to external talent
• 66% want to give the impression of company growth
• 63% want employees to believe their workload will be alleviated
• 62% want employees to feel replaceable
• 59% want to collect resumes for future openings

MyPerfectResume's survey revealed additional motivations ²:

• 38% test the market's response to hard-to-fill positions
• 38% maintain a presence on job boards even when not actively hiring
• 36% assess the effectiveness of job descriptions

Red Flags in Job Listings

Before investing hours in an application, scan the posting for these warning signs:

1. Vague Job Descriptions

Legitimate openings include specific responsibilities, reporting structures, and clear qualifications. "Job descriptions that lack details about the company, the role itself, or the hiring process are suspect," explains leadership coach Michael Ryan. "If they're being secretive, it's probably because they have something to hide."

Red flags to watch:

• No mention of the team you'd join
• Generic responsibilities like "various duties as assigned"
• Missing information about who you'd report to
• Absence of specific tools, technologies, or methodologies

2. Posting Age Over 30 Days

The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) reports that the average time to fill a role in 2024 was 41-44 days. However, LiveCareer's 2025 survey found that 37% of ghost job listings remain visible for 1-3 months, and 5% stay up indefinitely ⁵.

The 30-day rule: If a job has been posted for more than 30 days without updates, approach with skepticism. Positions posted for 45+ days that keep getting reposted are likely perpetual ghost jobs.

3. Missing Salary Information

With pay transparency laws expanding across the United States, companies that refuse to share even a basic salary range are often hiding something. The phrase "competitive salary" without specifics frequently translates to below-market compensation.

4. Unrealistic Requirements

Ghost job postings often feature impossibly broad qualification lists—think "entry-level position requiring 10 years of experience." These postings are designed to collect resumes rather than find a realistic candidate.

5. Multiple Identical Postings

If the same job appears repeatedly on job boards, disappearing and reappearing without explanation, it's a classic ghost job pattern. Legitimate companies fill positions; they don't perpetually recycle the same listing.

6. Company Information Gaps

Watch for:

• Missing or incomplete company logos
• No physical address or contact phone number
• Generic email addresses (Gmail, Yahoo) instead of company domains
• The job appears on LinkedIn or Indeed but not on the company's official careers page

Red Flags During the Interview Process

Some ghost jobs make it past the application stage. Here's what to watch for if you get an interview:

1. Vague Timeline Answers

During your interview, ask directly: "When do you intend to fill this role?" and "How long has this position been open?" Legitimate hiring managers have clear answers. If you get vague responses like "we're building a pipeline" or "when we find the right person," consider it a warning sign.

"The more specificity they can give you, the more likely that it does actually exist," notes industry career expert analysis ⁶.

2. Interviewer Seems Unprepared

If the interviewer hasn't reviewed your resume, seems unfamiliar with the role, or can't explain why the position is open, the job may not be a priority—or may not be real.

3. Inconsistent Information

Pay attention if different interviewers give contradictory information about the role, team size, or responsibilities. This often indicates the position hasn't been clearly defined—or doesn't truly exist.

4. Excessive Process With No Progress

Be wary of interview processes that drag on indefinitely. Multiple rounds with no clear next steps or decision timeline can indicate a ghost job. Conversely, being offered a position immediately with minimal vetting is also suspicious.

5. No Questions About Your Availability

Legitimate employers planning to hire ask about your start date, notice period, and availability. If an interviewer shows zero interest in when you could actually begin, they may not be planning to make an offer.

How to Verify If a Job Is Real

Before investing significant time in any application, conduct these verification steps:

Cross-Reference the Company Website

Always check if the job posting appears on the company's official careers page. "An inactive or duplicitously posted listing might be on a job platform like Indeed or LinkedIn but not on the company's site," according to industry analysis ⁷. If it's only on third-party sites, that's a significant red flag.

LinkedIn Investigation

LinkedIn offers powerful verification tools:

1. Check for employees in similar roles: Search for people currently working at the company with similar titles. If no one has a similar role, be cautious.

1. Look at company hiring patterns: Does the company regularly post and fill positions, or do they have dozens of openings that never close?

1. Verify recruiter identity: If a recruiter contacts you, check their profile thoroughly—complete work history, professional connections, and endorsements indicate legitimacy.

1. Message directly: Send a professional message asking if the role is still open. Genuine recruiters respond thoughtfully.

Glassdoor and Review Analysis

"Take a look at Glassdoor reviews too as someone might have left a comment flagging a hiring manager's proclivity for listing ghost jobs," suggests career expert analysis ⁸. Look for patterns of complaints about bait-and-switch postings or deceptive recruitment practices.

News and Press Research

Do a quick search for recent company news. Look for:

• Recent layoffs or hiring freezes (contradicts job postings)
• Funding announcements or expansion news (supports genuine hiring)
• The company name plus "scam" or "fraud" to surface others' experiences

Industries and Companies Most Likely to Post Ghost Jobs

Ghost jobs aren't evenly distributed. Research identifies these patterns:

High Ghost Job Industries ⁹:

• Government: ~60% of postings never lead to hires
• Education & Health: 50% ghost rate
• Financial Activities & Information: 44-48% ghost rate
• Tech sector: 40% of companies posted fake jobs in the past year

Company Size Matters: Academic research found that companies with 1,001 to 5,000 employees are statistically the worst offenders, with ghost jobs making up 24.8% of their postings ⁴.

Protecting Your Time and Energy

Prioritize Quality Over Quantity

With nearly one in three job postings potentially being ghost jobs, the old advice to "apply to everything" becomes counterproductive. Instead:

• Filter by posting date: Focus on jobs posted within the last 30 days
• Verify before customizing: Spend 10 minutes verifying legitimacy before investing hours tailoring your application
• Track patterns: Keep records of companies that frequently post but never fill positions

Leverage Networking

Up to 85% of jobs are filled through networking, often bypassing posted openings entirely. When you have a connection at a company, you can verify whether positions are real and get insider information about actual hiring needs.

Use Smart Application Tools

AI-powered tools can help you apply more efficiently without sacrificing quality. HiredKit's AI resume builder creates tailored resumes in seconds rather than hours, meaning even if you encounter ghost jobs, you've minimized the time lost.

What to Do If You Suspect a Ghost Job

During the Process

1. Ask direct questions about timeline and hiring intent
2. Set your own deadline: If you haven't heard back within 2-3 weeks despite follow-ups, move on
3. Trust your instincts: If something feels off, it probably is

After Confirmation

1. Flag the posting on job boards like LinkedIn, Indeed, or Glassdoor
2. Leave honest reviews on Glassdoor to warn other job seekers
3. Document patterns and share with job seeker communities
4. Report scams to the Federal Trade Commission if actual fraud is involved

The Bigger Picture: Change Is Coming

The ghost job epidemic hasn't gone unnoticed by regulators. In February 2025, the FTC established a Labor Task Force to address deceptive labor practices, including ghost job postings ¹¹. Multiple states are also introducing legislation to crack down on fake listings.

Until regulations catch up, your best defense is education and vigilance. Not every long-posted job is fake, and not every quick-moving process is legitimate. But by knowing the red flags and verification techniques, you can protect your most valuable resource: your time.

Key Takeaways

• 30-40% of job postings may be ghost jobs with no intention of hiring
• Red flags in listings: Vague descriptions, postings older than 30 days, missing salary info, unrealistic requirements
• Red flags in interviews: Vague timelines, unprepared interviewers, no questions about your availability
• Verification steps: Cross-reference company websites, investigate on LinkedIn, check Glassdoor reviews
• Protect your time: Prioritize recent postings, verify before investing hours, leverage networking

The job search is challenging enough without chasing positions that don't exist. Arm yourself with these detection strategies, and redirect your energy toward opportunities that are genuinely ready to hire.

Ready to make your real applications count? HiredKit helps you create targeted, ATS-optimized resumes in seconds—so even when you encounter ghost jobs, you haven't lost hours of effort.