As if finding a new job wasn't hard enough, now you have to worry about applying for "ghost jobs" -- positions that don't even exist.
A new survey from Clarify Capital indicates about half of companies list jobs they don't necessarily intend to fill because they're "always open to new people."
To understand the intent behind ghost jobs, Clarify Capital surveyed over 1,000 managers involved in the hiring process. Despite 96% of employers claiming they're actively trying to fill an open role quickly, 40% of employers don't expect to fill their active job posts for 2-3 months, according to the survey.
The poll also found that 68% of employers had job positions active for more than 30 days. Another one in 10 employers had job postings open for six months or longer.
Some career counselors believe the longer a job remains posted, the higher the chances of that job being a "ghost job."
"Anyone looking to avoid applying for 'ghost jobs' should pay close attention to when they were first posted," Joe Mercurio, project manager at Clarify Capital, said in a statement. "A job that was posted 48 hours ago is more likely to be actively hiring than a job that was posted three months ago."
As for why employers would post applications for "ghost jobs" they aren't actively trying to fill, the survey offered a variety of explanations.
"Around half of companies keep job postings open because they are always open to new people, but 43% aren't actively trying to fill positions because they want to keep employees motivated or they want to give off the impression that the company is growing," said Mercurio.
Other employers post "ghost jobs" because they want to have an active pool of applicants in case of turnover (37%), in case an irresistible candidate applies (35%), and to placate overworked employees (34%), the survey shows.
Not all "ghost jobs" are necessarily intentional -- 27% of employers said they simply forgot to delete the job posting.
"Whatever the reason, it definitely looks like many companies are not actively trying to fill the positions they have posted right now," said Mercurio.