Job searching is already challenging, but “ghost jobs”—listings posted without real hiring intent—add a layer of deceit.
Far beyond building talent pipelines, these postings serve complex, sometimes questionable purposes, like salary benchmarking or internal employee pressure tactics.
Drawing from frank perspectives of HR experts and business leaders, this HR Spotlight article reveals the hidden motives behind ghost jobs and explores the serious risks they pose to a company’s reputation and the trust of job seekers.
Read on!
Friddy Hoegener
Co-Founder & Head of Recruiting, SCOPE Recruiting
Hidden Motives Behind Corporate Ghost Job Practices
As an HR business lead, beyond the commonly discussed reasons like maintaining candidate pipelines or satisfying internal posting requirements, I’ve observed some less obvious motivations behind ghost job practices in the recruiting industry.
Companies frequently post positions to gauge salary expectations in competitive markets.
When organizations are considering expanding into new geographic areas or skill sets, fake job postings help them understand what compensation levels they’d need to offer without committing to actual hires.
Another uncommon driver involves competitive intelligence gathering. Some companies post attractive roles to see which competitors’ employees respond, providing insights into rival organizations’ retention challenges and workforce stability. This information becomes valuable for strategic planning and market positioning.
I’ve also noticed ghost jobs being used to test internal promotion readiness. Organizations post external roles to see if current employees apply, revealing who might be considering departure and helping identify internal candidates for future advancement opportunities.
Some companies use ghost postings to justify budget requests for hiring. When executives see hundreds of applications for non-existent roles, it supports arguments for increased headcount or higher salary ranges in subsequent budget discussions.
The practice reflects deeper organizational planning processes rather than deliberate candidate deception. However, it wastes candidates’ time and damages employer brand reputation when people discover the truth.
Transparent communication about hiring timelines and actual needs serves everyone better than these indirect intelligence-gathering methods.
Reveals Internal Skill Benchmarking Strategy
While it’s often assumed ghost jobs are posted to build a talent pipeline, an uncommon but increasingly relevant reason is internal benchmarking.
Some companies post roles publicly to gauge the market value of skills they already have in-house, helping HR teams justify salary adjustments or training investments.
For example, if job postings attract candidates with higher-level skills or certifications, it can prompt leadership to upskill existing teams rather than hire externally.
In this context, corporate training becomes a strategic alternative to recruitment, aligning workforce capabilities with evolving business needs.
Blake Beesley
Operations & Technology Manager, Pacific Plumbing Systems
Serves Multiple Strategic Business Purposes
One uncommon reason we’ve seen is pipeline protection companies post ghost jobs to have backup candidates ready in case someone quits or underperforms, especially in hard to fill roles.
Another is internal leverage: some managers use fake openings to pressure current staff to take promotions or work harder, creating a false sense of competition.
In a few cases, jobs are posted to gather market salary data or gauge interest in a potential expansion that hasn’t been approved yet. While not always malicious, it wastes candidates’ time and erodes trust.
If a role isn’t real, don’t post it transparency matters.
Guillermo Triana
Founder & CEO, PEO-Marketplace.com
Pressures Employees, Stall Hiring
Here is something people do not talk about: some companies post fake openings to pressure current employees.
It is like a soft threat, e.g., “your role could be filled.” It sounds shady, but it happens, especially during budget cuts or performance dips. Nobody says it outright, but when three people on a team spot their job posted publicly, morale tanks. It is a passive-aggressive tactic used to spark urgency without having the guts to confront issues head-on.
Then you have the internal chaos side. Some roles are posted without real intent to hire because teams are waiting on budget approval, but recruiting gets told to move anyway. It is a stall tactic. Post first, decide later.
Sometimes it is just a placeholder to keep a role “active” in the system. Basically, no plan, just bureaucracy in motion. Meanwhile, candidates waste time applying to something that does not exist.
Ghost Jobs: Hidden Motives Beyond Hiring
Beyond the obvious “keeping options open for good talent,” we’re tracking more subtle motivations.
Because a lot of the major job boards don’t source check, we see companies every day taking advantage of free traffic.
For instance, a few weeks ago, we saw a company post over 600K jobs on a major job board that drew traffic to their site – and who knows if those jobs were real.
In addition to this, we can assume employers post ghost jobs for AI training data collection., competitive intelligence gathering and even, perhaps, employee retention psychology.
Leah Miller
Marketing Strategist, Versys Media
Signals Growth, Benchmark Talent
One less obvious reason some companies post ghost jobs is purely strategic. I’ve seen organizations use them as a way to signal projected growth to investors or stakeholders.
Posting open roles they don’t intend to fill quickly can give the impression of scaling up, even when resources aren’t quite there yet.
Another reason is internal benchmarking; a company may want to see what kind of talent or salary expectations are out there without having to commit to hiring.
We once worked with a tech platform that listed roles just to test how its employer brand was landing compared to competitors. It wasn’t done maliciously, but from the candidate’s perspective, it still erodes trust.
Ghost Jobs Hurt Brand, Morale, Productivity
That 40% figure is troubling. Beyond the usual “pipeline building,” some managers post phantom roles to signal growth to investors or customers, to satisfy headcount optics before budgets are set, to test pay ranges or locations without committing, to hedge for pending contracts, or to appease leaders who equate open reqs with influence. It’s a bad practice.
Candidates notice and your brand takes the hit; current employees see the listings and assume they’re being replaced, which drags morale, productivity and retention.
It’s also a waste of money and time—recruiting and ads are expensive, and every hour spent screening for a non-job is an hour stolen from real workforce planning.
Do better: be transparent about hiring status, build talent communities, and only post when funding and approvals are real.
A Bet On Uncertainty
Posting “ghost jobs” may seem deceptive, but some less-discussed motivations come from operational uncertainty rather than ill intent.
In fast-moving sectors like tech and FinTech, companies sometimes post roles preemptively anticipating funding rounds, contract wins, or internal restructures that haven’t been finalized.
It’s a way to gauge market talent and keep a candidate pipeline warm.
Another overlooked reason is employer branding. Active listings can falsely signal growth or stability to investors, clients, or even competitors. While I understand the strategic logic, it’s a practice that erodes trust in the long term.
Transparency should always take precedence over short-term optics.
Ghost Jobs Benchmark Salaries and Talent
Having hired over 30 people and freelancers in my company and projects and having consulted with multiple HR teams during hiring booms, I’ve seen how these so-called “ghost jobs” serve hidden strategic purposes.
I regularly collaborate with companies that are refining their growth projections. One less-discussed driver is the desire to measure labor market trends or competitors’ salary expectations; some managers post roles purely to benchmark talent pools and adjust internal plans.
The HR Spotlight team thanks these industry leaders for offering their expertise and experience and sharing these insights.
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