Looking for a job is usually a long process that requires patience. Some of the steps to follow include selecting the appropriate search platform, screening to choose the offer that interests us the most, sending the correctly written CV and, if there is a response, taking an entrance test prior to the interview. All this requires a lot of time and attention.
On the other hand, to look for a job it is necessary to take into account certain things. A very important one that hardly seems to have an impact is the problem of phantom job offers.
What are ghost job offers. A job offer is phantom when the company that publishes it does not really intend to hire anyone at the time of publishing it. The number of this type of offers has increased so much that it has already been classified as one more phenomenon of the current labor market at an international level, the United States being the country in which special attention has been paid to this matter.
More than we think. In this sense, a report published by Clarify Capital at the end of 2022 indicated that there were job offers that remained active for more than a month despite the fact that the advertising companies did not seek to fill their vacancies immediately. According to the loan provider company, up to 68% of the more than a thousand managers analyzed had active job offers for more than 30 days, the reason given by 50% of these middle managers being that the firm was “open to new people ”.
Pretend everything is fine. Additionally, the report indicated other reasons why companies kept their job offers open without the intention of filling those vacancies. One of them, supported by 43% of the managers surveyed, is to give the impression that the company is growing. Elliot Garlock, founder of Stella Talent Partners, a recruiting company in the United States, said in statements to The Wall Street Journal that companies sometimes did not delete the offers of already filled vacancies so as not to show signs of economic slowdown.
“Motivate” the staff. This strategy does not only work externally. It also does so internally with the aim of increasing control over the company’s workforce. In this sense, 43% of the managers who participated in the study indicated that they left active job offers for a month to “keep current employees motivated”.
In this way, the perception is generated in the workers that they are expendable, that they can be replaced easily if the company so wishes, generating a fear that leads them to be more docile, doubt their work and, as a consequence, Work more.
Calm the spirits. At the same time, phantom job offers allow “calm” overworked employees. That was the reason why 43% of managers kept job offers active for more than a month with no intention of hiring anyone. The formula is simple. If stressed workers perceive that the company is making an effort to hire more staff, and that the company is not achieving that goal, the chances of conflict are reduced, at least in the short term. The intention is what counts.
Better prevent. Another reason to post phantom job offers, cited by 37% of managers surveyed by Clarify Capital, is to have a job ready. candidate list in case they need to fill a vacancy urgently. In this sense, Allyn Bailey, director of SmartRecruiters, told Business Insider that more and more companies publish these types of offers, even if they lack the necessary budget to hire someone, because that way “they have a source to use” when necessary. .
Save money. For her part, Kelsey Libert, co-founder of the marketing agency Fractl, acknowledged in an article published by The Wall Street Journal that her company keeps job offers even though they are not hiring to save costs when they need to fill a vacancy urgent. “Otherwise you’re suddenly in a position where you have to spend a lot of money on LinkedIn ads to generate interest quickly,” she said.
Fishing talent. Additionally, companies keep certain job offers active in case a highly qualified candidate decides to send their resume. It is a mechanism for firms to grab talent from the job market and the reason given by the 35% of managers surveyed by Clarify Capital who held phantom offers.
source of trouble However, this practice can affect the credibility of companies and have a negative impact on candidates. William Stonehouse, president of Crawford Thomas Recruiting, said in a Business Insider article that if a company’s job postings are “a graveyard” of positions already filled, the firm’s credit will suffer. “People want to be treated with dignity and respect,” he said.
Ghostbusters. To avoid bogus job postings, Scott Dobroski, vice president of Indeed’s communication department, recommended in a statement to The Wall Street Journal to look for job postings that are as recently published as possible, that contain very detailed descriptions and that explain as much as possible. detail the characteristics of the vacancy to be filled.
Imagen: LinkedIn Sales Solutions / Unsplash
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