The Hidden Why: Spilling the Beans on Ghost Jobs
Surveys reveal 40% of hiring managers post “ghost jobs,” roles not actively being filled, frustrating job seekers and eroding trust.
This HR Spotlight article gathers insights from business leaders and HR professionals on uncommon reasons behind this practice.
From contingency hiring and market calibration to signaling growth for investors or preserving headcount, these experts uncover strategic, often overlooked motives.
They also address the ethical concerns and trust costs, offering practical solutions like transparent labeling and clear timelines to mitigate candidate frustration, providing a roadmap for organizations to balance internal needs with external perceptions while maintaining a strong employer brand.
Read on!
Arsen Misakyan
CEO & Founder, Angel City Limo
As a founder who’s run hiring through contract cycles, I’ve seen “ghost jobs” happen for less-obvious reasons.
The most common at Angel City Limo: contingency hiring tied to uncertain revenue—e.g., an airport RFP or studio shuttle contract. You build a bench in case the deal lands, but you can’t issue offers until procurement signs. The role looks active from the outside, yet it’s paused by one signature you don’t control.
Other under-the-radar drivers: preserving approved headcount (finance will cut dormant reqs unless they’re “live”), maintaining job-board pricing tiers that require a minimum number of postings, and meeting optics in partner audits (some enterprise clients expect to see “active recruiting” in quarterly reviews).
I’ve also seen teams post to calibrate market comp or test ATS workflows before a broader hiring wave—useful internally, confusing externally.
We’ve changed our approach: if a role is pipeline-only, we label it that way and state the trigger (“pending contract award; ETA late October”). We add an auto-expire date and a one-line SLA on next steps to avoid inbox limbo.
For candidates, a simple sanity check helps: ask for timeline, budget owner, and success metrics for the first 90 days. If those answers are fuzzy, you’re likely looking at a contingency req.
Contingency Hiring Creates Unavoidable Ghost Job Scenarios
One of the less talked-about reasons hiring managers post “ghost jobs” is internal benchmarking.
It’s not about collecting resumes for the sake of ego or creating a false sense of growth—it’s about market calibration.
I’ve seen cases where teams post open roles not to hire immediately, but to gather current data on candidate expectations: salary benchmarks, skill gaps, evolving tech stacks.
It becomes an informal research tool, especially in fast-moving sectors where comp and capabilities shift every few months.
Another reason—one that rarely gets called out—is internal optics.
Sometimes a job post is less about the external market and more about internal signalling. A department lead might list a role to protect future headcount, even if budget approval hasn’t landed yet. Or they want to show higher-ups that they’re “planning for growth,” even if hiring isn’t on the immediate roadmap.
It’s a form of strategic theatre that isn’t inherently malicious, but it creates noise for candidates who assume every listing equals urgency.
There’s also the issue of succession hedging.
I’ve worked with orgs where a job goes live not because someone is leaving—but because leadership wants to be ready if they do. They’ve spotted burnout, misalignment, or upcoming life changes, and they quietly begin building a shortlist just in case. From their lens, it’s being proactive. But to candidates on the outside, it looks like a black hole.
The real challenge is that ghost postings erode trust. In a market where transparency is currency, using job boards as a test bed or placeholder weakens the employer brand—even if the intent isn’t harmful.
My advice to hiring managers: if you’re going to post, make it purposeful. If you’re not ready to hire, run research or forecasting internally without wasting a candidate’s time. Long-term, your hiring reputation matters more than the data you scraped from a few CVs.
Ghost Jobs Serve Hidden Internal Corporate Agendas
Not being a woman myself, I may not be able to speak directly from such an experiential standpoint, yet I have strongly, and deeply, felt the severe repercussions of high stress reactivity through my own entry into entrepreneurship and the constant pressure placed on me.
If this can serve as a parallel or complement to your piece, I would be truly honored to share it.
Living life on edge is not living at all:
There was a period about the time two years back when the days would start in full-body tension, before breakfast, for that matter, rehearsing with terrible plans.
Nowadays, I would find something minor, for example: a contractor would be late or did not send me any reply to an email, and that would put me on an emotional roller coaster.
From calm, I would be in confrontation mode within seconds, and being able to concentrate became an afterthought.
This slowly developed during the months of running DC Mobile Notary and simultaneously scaling DuoNotary until the point when I felt that I was no longer enjoying my own success.
What pulled me into the ripple was low-stakes activities which I could control.
So, every morning, I walk without headphones, just for my thoughts to slow down.
I write a lot of check-ins, usually noting down what felt out of sync that day and what I could do about it next, not later.
Most importantly, I gave myself intermission from never being on.
The shift didn’t save the day, but it was enough to halt the spiral so I could finally breathe again.
I would be glad to expand on that should you have further questions or if that fits your angle.
Low-Stakes Rituals Halt High-Stress Reactivity
One of the main reasons why businesses post “ghost jobs” is to create the illusion of growth.
When a business has job openings, that means they are growing and needing to add more members to their team, right? Well, not always. Sometimes these “ghost jobs” are literally just there to create the illusion of growth.
When people think a business is growing, they assume it’s really excelling and thus might be more interested in getting involved with it in some way. Though there may not be any legal issues here, I definitely think this practice is ethically questionable at best.
So, it’s not something we do. I don’t think it’s fair to job hunters and their time.
Ghost Jobs Create the Illusion of Growth
If you take just a few moments to survey discussions on LinkedIn, you’ll find the prevailing sentiment is “ghost jobs should be illegal.”
When I tell job seekers that almost half the listings they find online are probably bogus, they are understandably angry.
There are some business case reasons for ghost postings, like trying to indicate company health or growth, doing informal surveys of available talent, or hoping to boost the morale of overworked staff. However, I think there is one very human reason these posts linger, and it speaks to neither stellar work ethic nor healthy company culture. Never-got-around-to-it.
Job boards screening listings for accuracy: never-got-around-to-it
HR departments pulling job ads when jobs are filled or funding fails: never-got-around-to-it
Managers closing positions that have been phased out: never-got-around-to-it
From the outside, job seekers can’t tell if this behavior is the result of short staffing or callous attitudes.
Either way, ghost jobs are frustrating, unethical, and should be stamped out. If someone could just find the time to get around to it.
Not Strategic, Just Inaction
Edward Hones
Employment Lawyer & Founder, Hones Law PLLC
Legal Cushioning and Passive Compliance
From my perspective as an employment lawyer, one uncommon but very real reason companies post ghost jobs is to maintain the appearance of compliance with internal policies or legal obligations.
For example, some organizations, particularly federal contractors or those subject to affirmative action requirements, may post jobs to demonstrate they’re actively recruiting, even when they have no immediate intention to hire. It creates a paper trail that, in the event of an audit or lawsuit, can be used to show “good faith” hiring efforts, even if the positions were never truly open. While this isn’t necessarily illegal, it rides a thin ethical line and can mislead job seekers.
Strategic Talent Mapping (with Questionable Transparency)
Another lesser-known motive is strategic pipeline building for future contracts or business expansion.
Companies might anticipate new work, but until it’s confirmed, they hedge by posting roles to see who’s out there. If the deal doesn’t land, the job vanishes. In this context, it’s less about deception and more about risk management, but it creates real trust issues with candidates.
I advise clients to be transparent in these cases: label the job “pipeline” or “future opportunity” so applicants aren’t misled.
Honest branding of speculative roles goes a long way in protecting both the employer’s reputation and legal standing.
Offers Legal and Strategic Hedges
I’ve hired across retail, delivery, and digital—and yes, ghost jobs are real, but not always for the obvious reasons.
Some post openings to test market interest before greenlighting a new job. Others use it to gather future candidates during off-season cycles, especially in businesses with seasonal surges.
I’ve seen leaders use ads to calm internal teams, like saying, “We’re growing,” even if they’re not ready to hire yet. It’s not ideal, but it often occurs when hiring decisions are influenced by mood or funding considerations.
Ghost Jobs: A Strategic Market Test
Jonathan Hill
Chairman & CEO, The Energists
“Ghost job” postings are an unfortunately common practice though I wish they weren’t.
Their potential harm goes beyond annoying job seekers. They can erode candidates’ trust in the hiring process and cause lasting damage to a company’s employer brand, which ultimately makes them counterproductive for the purpose many companies use them for.
There are two reasons for ghost postings that I’ve witnessed most often:
They forgot to take the post down after the job was filled or the search was cancelled.
They’re using the fake job to collect resumes and build a pipeline.
There are also some less common reasons I’ve seen for these postings:
Internal budget constraints – The company intends to fill the job when they post it but are faced with a pause in hiring after doing so, or may still be waiting for the budget approval before moving forward.
Contractual or client requirements – In sectors like EPC or consulting, firms may need to demonstrate staffing capacity as part of a bid, but don’t plan to fill the role unless they win the deal.
PR and market signaling – Hiring often reads as growth, which can mean a company with open jobs can look more attractive to investors or stakeholders.
Internal promotion – They plan to fill the job internally but are required to conduct a public search to satisfy compliance or policies, and so post the job with no intention of hiring an outside candidate.
Performance pressure – if someone in the company (often an executive or other critical role) is under-performing, they may post a role to both motivate that individual and to test the market if they do need to be replaced.
As an overarching comment, I’d say if a ghost posting isn’t for pipeline building or the result of carelessness, it’s most often going to be motivated by internal factors that may or may not have anything to do with the company’s talent strategy.
Motivated By Internal Factors
Magda Klimkiewicz
Senior HR Business Partner, Live Career
In a competitive industry, appearing active and fast-growing can be just as valuable as actual expansion. By posting job openings, even without the intent to hire, companies create the illusion of scaling up. This can make them seem more attractive to venture capitalists and potential backers.
For example, a startup in Series A funding might advertise multiple engineering roles, not because they are ready to onboard, but to signal momentum. These job posts are often left open indefinitely, fitting into the narrative that the business is gearing up for a big leap.
This tactic is not deceptive in the eyes of some hiring managers. They view it as a proactive branding strategy rather than a dishonest practice.
Sometimes, job postings are less about hiring and more about crafting a narrative for shareholders, competitors, or even employees.
Interestingly, these strategic, though arguably misleading practices show that ghost jobs are not always about laziness or disorganization. They are, in most cases, about perception, influence, and control.
A Strategic Branding Tool
The HR Spotlight team thanks these industry leaders for offering their expertise and experience and sharing these insights.
Do you wish to contribute to the next HR Spotlight article? Or is there an insight or idea you’d like to share with readers across the globe?
Write to us at connect@HRSpotlight.com, and our team will help you share your insights.
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