GoKawiil
Tech News
A new survey finds that 86% of job candidates report having come across job postings they suspected were not tied to any actual open position. These 'ghost jobs' appear live on job boards despite the role not actively being filled, leaving many applicants submitting resumes into a void.
Kickresume analyzed nearly 97,000 Indeed listings across six industries for signs of so-called ghost jobs—postings companies never intend to fill. It found 36% of U.S. listings, and 43% in tech, had been live for more than 30 days, while exact reposts and 'urgent hiring' ads without deadlines each made up just 0.1% of postings.
A new analysis of postings pulled directly from applicant tracking system APIs found that 28% of jobs listed on employer career sites remain open for more than 90 days after publication. The data covers postings verified as live on employer sites, tracked at the board level every few hours rather than scraped or estimated. The report also tracks 'reposts' — listings that close and reappear within 30 days for the same role — but does not label any individual posting a 'ghost job'.
Employers overwhelmed by nearly identical AI-generated resumes are turning to automated ATS ranking systems to filter candidates, while job seekers increasingly rely on AI to craft applications that can slip through these same filters. The result, according to workplace observer Chait, is an escalating cycle where each side's use of AI to solve its own problem only deepens the other's frustration. Some companies, like Toshiba and Doist, are pushing back by keeping humans in the loop for application review, even as AI creeps into interviews.