Ask HN: Who is pretending to be hiring?

Why “Fake” or Aspirational Job Postings Exist

• Many anecdotes of companies listing multiple roles while only seriously trying to fill one, or none.
• Reasons cited: “nice-to-have” headcount, only hiring if an exceptional “unicorn” appears, or just building a future candidate pool.
• Startups and growth-stage companies use long job lists to signal momentum to investors, customers, and employees.
• Some roles are posted solely to satisfy legal or immigration requirements (e.g., H-1B “we tried to hire locally” paperwork) with no intent to hire external candidates.

Managerial Incentives and Corporate Signaling

• Managers are said to pursue team growth for status, promotion, and perceived importance; this can later contribute to layoffs.
• Rumors and experiences in large orgs: manager promotion tied to headcount numbers.
• Some managers argue fake reqs are irrational for line managers and usually driven by higher-level leadership and budgeting politics.

Impact on Candidates and Hiring Process

• Job seekers report mass ghosting, auto-rejections, and long-open roles that never close.
• Applicants waste time on tailored resumes/cover letters for roles that aren’t real, worsening burnout and mental health.
• High applicant volume plus low recruiter capacity leads to heavy reliance on ATS filters, “AI” screening, and shallow heuristics.
• People note that direct outreach to hiring managers or existing employees often works better than applying via portals.

Debate on Legality, Enforcement, and Ethics

• Some call fake postings fraudulent and argue they should be illegal, especially when used to mislead investors or satisfy quotas.
• Proposed remedies: fines, whistleblower bounties, mandated statistics on hires vs. postings.
• Others say not every disliked practice should be criminalized; distinguishing “not really hiring” from “very high bar” is seen as hard and easily gamed.
• There’s concern about over-regulation vs. recognition that markets alone are not fixing the issue.

State of the Tech Job Market & Coping Strategies

• Several comments describe a frozen or very tight market (especially UX/design), despite abundant postings.
• Others contrast tech favorably to non-tech professions but acknowledge current hiring freezes and “growth theater.”
• Suggested responses: track and avoid chronic “ghost job” companies, share information (e.g., dedicated sites), name-and-shame, apply very quickly/cheaply, or seek “boring” but real jobs in non-tech industries.