The short answer: Yes. Ghost jobs are job postings that stay up even though the employer isn't actively trying to fill the role. Greenhouse, a hiring software company, classifies 18% to 22% of the jobs posted on its platform in a given quarter as ghost jobs. They can come from talent pipelines, frozen budgets, internal candidates, evergreen listings or attempts to look like a growing company. You can't always spot one, but you can check a few signals before you invest your time.

You find a Senior Project Manager role on LinkedIn at a well-known company. The salary is attractive, the responsibilities match your experience and you meet nearly every requirement.

You spend two hours tailoring your resume, write a cover letter and complete the application. Then you wait. One week. Three weeks. Six weeks. Nothing.

Eventually you go back to the company's careers page. The same job is still there, except now it says Posted 2 days ago.

You wonder whether they rejected you, found someone better or thought your resume wasn't strong enough. Then the same position appears again the next month, and the month after that.

At some point, you have to ask: is this company actually hiring anyone?

Welcome to the world of ghost jobs. And unlike some job search myths, this one has evidence behind it.

What is a ghost job?

A ghost job is a job advertisement that stays public even though the employer has no genuine intention of filling it through that hiring process. The job is advertised, but there may be no real opportunity behind it.

That doesn't mean the company is fake. The organization can be legitimate, the title real, the responsibilities realistic and the salary accurate. The employer just isn't actively trying to fill the role.

That's what makes ghost jobs hard to recognize. They don't always look suspicious. Sometimes they look exactly like the opportunity you've been hoping for.

Are ghost jobs actually real?

Yes. In its 2024 State of Job Hunting report (opens in a new tab), Greenhouse reported that 18% to 22% of jobs posted on its platform in a given quarter were classified as ghost jobs, and three in five surveyed candidates suspected they'd encountered one.

That's not a few frustrated people on social media. It's data from a company that builds hiring software for employers.

One important caveat: that figure applies to Greenhouse's own postings. It doesn't prove the same share of every listing on LinkedIn, Indeed or the wider job market is a ghost job. Platforms, industries and employers differ, and proving that an employer deliberately misled applicants isn't always straightforward.

Still, it raises a fair question: if companies know people spend hours applying, why advertise jobs they aren't filling?

Why do companies post jobs they may never fill?

They're building a talent pipeline, not hiring today. A fast-growing company that often needs engineers may keep a listing open with no approved vacancy, collecting resumes so recruiters have candidates ready when a role opens. That can be efficient for the employer. But you thought you were applying for a job that existed today. A current vacancy and a future talent pool can both be legitimate, but they shouldn't be presented as the same thing. In Axios's reporting (opens in a new tab), Greenhouse co-founder Jon Stross described how organizations and staffing agencies sometimes collect candidates in anticipation of future needs.

They want to look like they're growing. A company under budget pressure may keep advertising roles, giving customers, employees and investors the impression of expansion. Not every company hiring during a hard period is pretending, and a vacancy alone isn't proof of deception. But reporting, including the Wall Street Journal's look at ghost jobs (opens in a new tab), has identified projecting growth as one motivation. Job postings aren't reliable proof that a company is expanding or that every role has an approved budget.

There's an internal candidate in mind. Someone inside has been doing much of the work and leadership already favors them, but the role is advertised publicly anyway. Sometimes employers genuinely consider everyone. Sometimes the outcome was largely decided from the start. And some organizations have policies or legal obligations to advertise certain roles, though there's no universal rule that every private employer must advertise every job. An internal candidate doesn't make a posting a ghost job. But if the employer has already decided and won't seriously consider outsiders, calling it an open competition raises real questions about transparency.

The budget disappeared, but the posting didn't. Not every ghost-like posting starts dishonestly. A role is approved and published, applications arrive, and then a contract is delayed, a hiring freeze starts or the team is restructured. The listing stays online because nobody updated it, the role is on hold or the company hopes to reopen it. A job can start as a genuine vacancy and quietly become inactive, and the impact on applicants is the same.

It's an evergreen listing. Employers that hire for the same roles constantly, such as nurses, customer service staff, sales associates, warehouse workers, engineers and field technicians, may keep one ongoing listing. That can support real, continuous hiring. But it doesn't mean there's an immediate opening for everyone who applies. Look for clarity: does the posting describe an active vacancy, multiple openings or applications collected for future roles?

Is a ghost job the same as a job scam?

No, and the difference matters. A ghost job usually involves a real employer advertising a role without genuine hiring intent. A job scam is deception meant to take your money, personal information or something else of value.

Scammers impersonate real companies, advertise attractive remote roles, run fake interviews and even create convincing onboarding documents. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (opens in a new tab) warns that scammers use job sites, social media and other channels, and that red flags include being asked to pay for a job, suspicious requests for financial information and hiring processes you can't verify through official company channels.

If someone asks you to pay to get a job, stop. And verify that you're dealing with the real employer before sharing sensitive information. A ghost job wastes your time. A scam can cost you money or expose your identity.

Seven warning signs a job may not be actively hiring

No single sign proves a job is a ghost job. But these patterns are worth checking before you invest serious time.

  1. The same job keeps getting reposted. It could mean ongoing hiring, several vacancies or a search that hasn't worked. Repeated reposting with no visible progress is a reason to ask questions.
  2. It's been open for an unusually long time. Specialized roles can take months. A routine role that never closes deserves a closer look.
  3. It's on a job board but not the company's careers page. Not conclusive, since some employers recruit through agencies and old listings can linger. But checking the official site is a useful step.
  4. The description is extremely generic. Little detail about responsibilities, location, qualifications or the team makes a role harder to judge.
  5. No one can confirm whether the role is active. Recruiters can be overwhelmed, so silence isn't proof. But a lack of clarity should affect how much effort you invest.
  6. It disappears and reappears without explanation. A renewed budget, a failed search or job-board refresh behavior can cause this. Check whether the new posting is genuinely open.
  7. You're asked for money or sensitive information too early. This goes beyond a ghost job and may be fraud. Verify the employer and see the FTC's guidance on spotting job scams (opens in a new tab).

How do you check whether a job is worth applying for?

You can't always know whether a role is active. Even recruiters may not know whether budgets will change. But you can make a more informed decision.

1. Check the official careers page. Look for a matching title, location and job requisition number. Finding it supports the posting's legitimacy, though it doesn't guarantee hiring is moving.

2. Review the posting history. Has it appeared repeatedly? Has the title changed? Are there duplicate listings? Separate regular hiring from unexplained reposting.

3. Look for signs of current hiring activity. Check reputable sources for news of a hiring freeze, restructuring or expansion. Don't draw conclusions from rumors.

4. Ask a specific question. If you can find a legitimate recruiter or hiring contact, keep it short and professional:

Hi, I came across the Senior Project Manager opening and wanted to confirm whether the team is actively reviewing applications for this position. My experience aligns closely with the responsibilities, and I'd appreciate any clarification.

You don't need to accuse anyone of posting a fake job.

5. Check your fit before spending hours. A real job can still be the wrong job for you. Do you meet the essential requirements, can you show relevant achievements and does the role fit your goals?

6. Track your applications. Record the employer, role, date, link and status. It helps you spot repeated postings, avoid applying twice and tell the difference between a rejection and silence.

Should job boards be doing more?

Job boards have become central to how people find work, but showing thousands of listings isn't the same as making sure each one is a current, genuine vacancy. Job seekers increasingly want to know whether a job is verified, whether the company is actively hiring, when the vacancy was last confirmed, whether it's a current opening or a talent pipeline and whether the employer responds to applicants.

Some platforms are responding. In May 2026, Indeed stated (opens in a new tab) that every posting must be connected to a real employer actively hiring for a specific role, and that it removes listings without a legitimate intent to hire. That's a meaningful commitment, but no policy can remove every outdated, misleading or fraudulent posting.

The bigger question is whether job platforms should be judged only by how many jobs they show, or also by how trustworthy and actionable those jobs are. For people investing their time and personal information, that difference matters.

What's the real cost of a ghost job?

Say you spend 90 minutes on an application: tailoring your resume, answering screening questions, researching the company and explaining why you're interested. Then you find out the role was never actively being filled.

The lost time is only part of it. You may start doubting your qualifications, assume your resume isn't good enough, pay for rewrites you don't need, get discouraged and start applying to everything, or lose faith in hiring altogether.

You can't fairly judge your own performance when the opportunity may never have existed. Not every unanswered application means you weren't qualified. Sometimes you weren't selected. Sometimes the competition was stronger. Sometimes the process changed. And sometimes the job was never really open. Those are very different explanations.

Why is "apply to everything" bad advice?

When you respond to uncertainty with volume, you apply to every questionable listing you find. Soon you've sent 300 applications without knowing how many were suitable, current or genuinely open.

Try the opposite. Before applying, check whether the opportunity looks legitimate, whether the role is relevant, whether you meet the essential requirements, whether you're competitive and whether it's worth the time.

You won't avoid every ghost job, and no platform can guarantee every employer will finish hiring. But you can stop treating every posting as equally valuable. A job posting is an invitation to investigate an opportunity, not proof that someone will be hired.

The next time you see a job posting, ask one more question

You've been taught to ask: "Am I qualified for this job?" That matters. But also ask: "Is this company genuinely hiring for this role?"

You won't always get a clear answer. But checking the careers page, reviewing the posting history and evaluating relevance will help you decide.

And remember: a rejection doesn't automatically mean you weren't good enough. An unanswered application doesn't automatically mean you failed an ATS. A reposted job doesn't automatically mean the employer is dishonest. But a public job posting doesn't automatically mean there's an active vacancy, either.

Your time deserves better than blind applications. Before you spend another two hours tailoring your resume, investigate the opportunity, understand the role, check your fit, then decide whether it's worth pursuing.

Frequently asked questions

Are ghost jobs real?

Yes. Greenhouse reported that 18% to 22% of jobs posted on its platform in a given quarter were classified as ghost jobs. That figure covers Greenhouse's own postings, not every job board.

Why do companies post ghost jobs?

Common reasons include building a talent pipeline, a frozen or cancelled budget, an internal candidate already favored, evergreen listings and, in some cases, wanting to appear to be growing.

How can I tell if a job posting is a ghost job?

Look for repeated reposting, a role open for an unusually long time, a listing missing from the company's careers page, a very generic description and no one able to confirm the role is active. No single sign is proof.

Is a ghost job the same as a job scam?

No. A ghost job usually comes from a real employer that isn't actively hiring. A scam is designed to steal money or personal information. Never pay to get a job.

Should I still apply if I suspect a ghost job?

Check the careers page and posting history first, and ask the recruiter if you can. If the role still looks active and fits you well, a focused application is reasonable. Just don't spend hours on it until you've checked.

Check before you apply

At SBMark, we believe job seekers deserve more than a long list of vacancies. They deserve better information to make career decisions.

That's why MARK, your AI career partner, is built around one principle: check before you apply. MARK looks at the signals available, such as how old a listing is and whether it's been reposted, tells you how confident it is and checks your fit, so you know whether to apply, strengthen first or skip.

We won't pretend AI can read an employer's private hiring plans. It can't, and a real posting can still be cancelled tomorrow. But you deserve better tools to judge the information that is available before you invest your time.

Applying should be the last step, not the first.

Check your next job with MARK →

Stand out. Get hired. Keep growing.