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Applying for a job can be tedious and frustrating enough\u2014especially if the role you applied for doesn\u2019t even exist.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The practice of posting non-existent jobs is growing. Survey results<\/a> from Resume Builder<\/a> show a whopping 40% of companies posted fake jobs within the last year, and three in 10 companies still have them up. To the job seeker, this practice seems shady, but 70% of hiring managers believe posting fake jobs is \u201cmorally acceptable,\u201d according to the study.\u00a0<\/p>\n The reasons why hiring managers would do this are plentiful\u2014even if it may not make sense to applicants. Some use it as signaling to burned-out employees that help may be on the way, while others do it to test the market, benchmark salaries and benefits among competitors, and make it appear as if they\u2019re staying on top of DEI initiatives. Others do it to build a pool of potential candidates they can contact when an actual vacancy arises, Lauren Winans, CEO and principal HR consultant for human resources consultancy Next Level Benefits<\/a>, tells Fortune.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n But what\u2019s most alarming is that some employers use it as a scare tactic to signal to current employees that they could be replaced at any time.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cOne part of business practice has always relied on misinformation to attempt to keep employees feeling afraid and insecure,\u201d Daniel Boscaljon, an executive coach and the co-founder of business consultancy Healthy Relationship Academy<\/a>, tells Fortune<\/em>. \u201cMany illogical motives may inspire this act. It could be wanting employees to believe that they won\u2019t be as badly overworked, to make employees feel insecure, or to send a message to rival companies.\u201d<\/p>\n Not only does posting fake jobs give both candidates and current employees a false sense of hope, but it\u2019s a waste of time and resources. It takes time to develop a job posting\u2014whether real or fake\u2014and candidates pour time and effort into putting together an application.<\/p>\n Posting a fake job is \u201cnever ethical due to the amount of time, effort, and emotion that good candidates invest in job applications,\u201d Euan Cameron, founder and CEO at video interviewing platform Willo<\/a>, tells Fortune<\/em>. What\u2019s even more concerning to Cameron is the statistic from the Resume Builder survey showing 85% of companies engaging in this practice went as far as to interview candidates for the fake jobs.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThis really shocks me,\u201d Cameron says. This leads to \u201cwasting further time, putting candidates through a stressful process unnecessarily, and potentially impacting their wellbeing.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s not just job candidates who have to deal with the consequences of responding to fake postings. The companies who engage in this practice can get caught.\u00a0<\/p>\n Posting fake jobs can \u201cseriously degrade the existing employees\u2019 opinion of their employer and cause irreparable damage to the employer brand for prospective candidates,\u201d Cameron says. \u201cA company\u2019s actions in its first interaction with a candidate reveal a lot about how that organization operates. In a world where businesses grapple with productivity, this practice screams untrustworthiness, irresponsibility, and wastefulness.\u201d<\/p>\n And in a digital world where information is at our fingertips, companies should also be concerned about the reality of their hiring practices spreading across social media and other online forums. This can harm a company\u2019s reputation on websites like Glassdoor and LinkedIn<\/a> and can make it more difficult for the company to hire top talent in the future out of fear from potential candidates that the job isn\u2019t even real, Cameron says.\u00a0<\/p>\n Plus, deceptive advertising practices have legal repercussions<\/a>, Winans warns. But other experts say there are some loopholes that companies use to avoid being punished for the practice.<\/p>\n \u201cA company can say that the job was advertised by mistake or that the company decided to go another way,\u201d Boscaljon says. \u201cThis makes it difficult to call advertising fake jobs illegal. It certainly reflects a company culture that is bankrupt and is likely a sign that other ethically problematic activities are accepted by leadership.\u201d<\/p>\n Just like most information on the internet, it\u2019s important to verify what you\u2019re seeing. Experts have some ways to suss out whether or not a job posting is real. If you see the posting on a job board, it\u2019s a good idea to verify the posting on the company\u2019s official website.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIf it\u2019s not listed there, it might be fake,\u201d Winans says. \u201cVague job descriptions, unusually high salaries, and lack of contact information can be red flags.\u201d<\/p>\n Cameron also recommends directly contacting the employer who posted the job and asking for more information about the role including questions about the company and expected responsibilities. Generally, genuine job ads will be met with a genuine response, plus \u201cit\u2019s also good practice to demonstrate your interest in the position.\u201d<\/p>\n And, in general, it\u2019s always a good idea to do research on a company\u2019s culture before applying for a job, Boscaljon says.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIf the business has a lot of turnover, if employees are unhappy, if management or leaders have a reputation for underhanded practices, these are signs that there are many reasons to apply for a job, even if it is real,\u201d Boscaljon says.<\/p>\n<\/div>\nA waste of time and resources<\/h2>\n
Posting fake jobs can cause \u2018irreparable damage\u2019<\/h2>\n
How to spot a fake job posting<\/h2>\n
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