Killing the “Ghost Job” Epidemic
Picture this: you spend an hour crafting your CV because you want a job. Sounds simple enough, right?
Well, it gets worse, obviously. You’re forced to go to another landing page. Perhaps they have their own login process, perhaps they demand that you write a cover letter. But, since you’re here and you finally have the time, you commit to fulfilling the requirements. Thirty questions? Piece of cake. They ask you to record a four-minute video? You make it twice as long. No way this offer is gonna get past you.
Oh, but it can. Oh, but it will.
You wait a few days, then a few weeks. Eventually, you give up, despite feeling like you were the best candidate. Now, what if I told you that this type of job offer is nothing but a scam? A made-up position that was never meant to be filled.
But why does this keep happening? The reasons vary. Companies may want to build a pool of candidates for later, gauge the talent market, keep a role open while plans change, or simply leave an old listing sitting online. Some postings can also remain active because third-party job boards continue displaying them after circumstances have changed.
To be completely honest, this is why the problem is so difficult and frustrating to assess: the cost of the application relies entirely on you. From sacrificing free time to re-recording those annoying videos, the application process doesn’t really present a functional level of friction for both parties.
But what if rejection actually cost something?
Imagine we created a rule for the above scenario. A very simple one, really.
If a company rejects someone who applies for a position, it has to provide a specific explanation for why that person wasn’t selected. Maybe we could receive answers based on a very strict menu of rejection reasons.
Perhaps, expressions such as: “We hired a candidate more in line with X and Y,” or “We decided to put this position on hold.” Would this “kill” ghost jobs? No, not really. But it could create some upheaval.
Right now, companies get to experiment with hiring at very little cost. They can leave a position open while they figure out what they want. Meanwhile, the people applying are spending real time on every single one. That’s called an imbalance.
But what can we do about it?
Well, obviously, you won’t apply again and again, following the same game.
Or you could instead start learning about these processes and honing your technique to avoid falling into the same old traps.
We teach you how to use the skills you already have to pursue multiple remote roles, how to identify jobs that can work together, and how to manage them without turning your entire life into work.
If you work in software engineering, marketing, sales, customer success, project management, or other remote-friendly fields, you may already have the skills that make this possible.
The goal is to stop treating one job as the only source of income you can have. Because the hiring market is going to keep changing. Companies will keep changing their hiring plans, and you shouldn’t have to upend your life because of it.
If this is something you’ve been thinking about, we’ll be covering more strategies for building a stronger career and income in the next newsletter.
Until next time,
Rolf.
