Have you ever been in a selection process and stopped getting a response from the recruiter? Or have you come across, for months, the same advertisement from a company looking for candidates for a position? It may have been an exercise in “ghosting” by a human resources manager or one of those known as “ghost jobs” that is, those that are published without real intention of hiring.
Both situations are making it difficult for thousands of candidates globally to find a job, according to a new report from Greenhouse, recruitment software company. The study, carried out among 2,500 full-time workers from the United States, the United Kingdom and Germany, analyzes trends in the current labor market, including the aforementioned: “ghosting” and “ghost jobs.”
The number of candidates who claim to have been ignored after an interview has grown
Research indicates that ghosting and ghost jobs are two common concerns for job seekers. The first of the internships is on the rise, since 61% of the candidates surveyed claim to have been ignored after a job interview, which represents an increase of nine percentage points from April 2024.
According to the firm, in addition, this matter can be seen influenced by issues of ethnicity or gender. Historically underrepresented job applicants are even more likely to experience ghosting after a job interview: 66% versus 59% of white candidates.
Greenhouse points out that one of the possible reasons for the growth of ghosting is that those responsible for selection have been overwhelmed by the possibilities that the artificial intelligence provides for job search. 38% of the candidates they apply en masse to positions, flooding employers with resumes rather than searching for specific opportunities.
For their part, the ghost jobs They are also increasingly common: 3 out of 5 candidates say they suspect they have encountered a job of this type. Specifically, 60% of job seekers in the United States have applied for a job they suspected was a ghost job, compared to 56% in the United Kingdom and 59% in Germany.
And Greenhouse data indicates that between 18% and 22% of jobs posted in any given quarter on its platform They never get busy. This aligns with the fact that 73% of American candidates claim to have encountered a fraudulent or spam job offer.
Furthermore, some of these publications appear on the companies’ own employment pages, although to a greater extent they are found on social networks, job search websites or in email job alerts.
Many of the companies behind ghost jobs say they publish job offers because they are always open to finding new talent. Others seek to transmit the feeling that the company is growingor appease current employees with the promise of reinforcementsor keep the door open to the possibility of finding the perfect candidate.
The market itself is becoming aware of the situation and, in some cases, trying to implement measures to reduce confusion. For example, Greenhouse has badges that inform that the company responds to requests, fills jobs and responds in case of rejection.
LinkedIn also has checkers that indicate that the job offered is real.
Despite this, it is recommended Caution to candidates. It is advisable, beyond reading the published offer, to find out about the company and even compare it with it if it is true that it is in the selection process. Likewise, candidates are advised to pay attention to the publication date of the offers to avoid frustration.