That job you applied for might not exist | Hacker News Reader

That job you applied for might not exist

cbsnews.com

26 pointstagyro17 comments

The article states three reasons why hiring managers and HR departments may do this but there is a very important fourth reason to do this that is omitted.

Mass-producing adverts for non-existent positions is a method of defrauding investors that is not currently policed in any way. Will this loophole be addressed by the SEC or HCoFS in the future? It depends on the next election, but possibly not at all.

There's a fifth reason: scams and data mining. Since no one submits false information, coupled with LinkedIn -the OSINT goldmine- you can select any target you want.

> Mass-producing adverts for non-existent positions is a method of defrauding investors

How so?

a company ready to mass hire, implies ready to spend, this bolsters an impression of profitability and expansion, and is gaming speculations of future stock value.

But wouldn't that fact that, as you point out, job postings aren't a reliable indicator of business performance precisely because of their propensity to be BS itself diminish any impression they might bolster?

In other words, why would investors who want to use hiring as an indicator of performance deliberately look at job postings, which they know might be BS, instead of payroll budgets on the financial reports, which aren't?

little late but, smarts can make money, but money doesnt make smarts.

I’m trying to figure out how I feel about this. I guess it depends on how arduous the application process is. If it’s just one click apply on LinkedIn and it gives them an idea of supply in the labour market then I’m not losing sleep over it as an applicant. But if they are expecting cover letters and taking people through rounds of interviews, that’s pretty inconsiderate and speaks to a rotten company culture.

This is short sighted as this will ultimately push more job seekers into going through external recruiters and these companies will be left paying recruitment premiums.

Google called annually for 10 years after I interviewed there, asking if I was still interested in employment. I always said yes and they kept calling every year until I demanded to know what the purpose of the calls was.

Did they tell you?

{I really hope you don't get offended by my comment - I want to present you a different perspective}

A candidate applying for a job - even with a single click - involuntarily and automatically has a small hope that they might get that job. If that candidate is in a more desperate situation, not receiving a reply, being denied or mislead, has a mental toll.

Do this for a couple of job ads and the effect compounds.

if you create a posting that you know will never be filled or for a job that doesn't exist, then to me that's unethical and should be against the law.

It's also an enormous red flag. I wouldn't work for a place that starts lying to candidates before they even apply.

with a recruiter, you just outsource the cold emails and applying to someone else.

Archive: https://archive.is/Qpq8i

Stats: https://x.com/gaybearres/status/1807738852259299626?s=48

- 40% of companies admit to posting fake jobs

- 70% of managers believe posting fake job listings boosted revenue

- 65% of managers believe the job ads had a positive impact on morale

- 77% of managers reported an uptick in productivity among workers

- On comment: 70% of managers believe fake job postings are morally justified

The last might be the most important and overlooked: https://medium.com/@trendguardian/why-we-are-dispensable-7a5...

I don‘t apply to jobs anymore, I only work with recruiters and recruitment agencies that do all the nasty leg work for me, leading to employers pretty much applying to me. For example, in my country, we often have to write motivational letters when directly applying somewhere, ridiculous. Another bonus: Companies wouldn‘t waste money on those agencies for fake jobs.

> Nearly 70% of them said posting fake job listings boosted revenue.

How are job listings and company revenue related?

counterintuitive; if you see a posting for your role, then you put effort into leaving, not working harder.

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