Ghost jobs are wreaking havoc on tech workers

Prevalence and Forms of Ghost Jobs

• Many describe fake or “already filled” roles as common: listings used to collect resumes, test the market, satisfy HR/legal process, or signal growth to investors.
• Government, large enterprises, and H‑1B/PERM immigration processes are called out for mandated postings when an internal/visa candidate is effectively preselected.
• Some managers allegedly post speculative roles (“if a unicorn appears, we’ll hire”) or to gauge how replaceable current staff are.

Impact on Candidates and Employers

• Candidates report spending hours on applications, tests, and video interviews only to be ghosted or later told the role is frozen or never real.
• Several note emotional harm and wasted “precious capital” (time, money, childcare tradeoffs) vs. employers mostly wasting on‑the‑clock time.
• A few small‑company hiring managers push back, saying they too are overloaded with spammy, unqualified applications; they see the burden as symmetrical.

Platforms, Job Search Strategy, and Networking

• Mixed views on LinkedIn/Indeed: some say they’re spammy and recommend going direct to company career pages or ATS URLs; others report multiple good jobs via LinkedIn, especially from inbound recruiters.
• Strong sentiment that networking and prior connections are far more effective than cold applications, though some report success primarily from job boards.
• One subthread unpacks “networking” as long‑term relationship‑building vs short‑term schmoozing; many find it opaque or socially biased.

HN “Who’s Hiring” Thread

• Users believe ghost jobs and repeat boilerplate ads exist there too.
• Moderator introduces a new rule: only post if you intend to fill the role and will respond to all applicants; discussion centers on how (or whether) this can be enforced.
• Ideas: auto‑detect repeated identical ads, link to previous month’s listing, allow flags or meta‑feedback, or build more structured tooling around the thread.

Legal and Regulatory Questions

• Some argue ghost postings are deceptive and should fall under FTC or state false‑advertising or securities‑fraud doctrines; others highlight enforcement difficulty and side‑effects of existing “fairness” regulations that already drive some fake postings.
• Unionization and worker co‑ops are mentioned as political/structural responses, but how they would directly stop ghost jobs is seen as unclear.

Proposed Fixes and New Services

• Suggestions include: required salary ranges, mandated responses or feedback to candidates, and explicit disclosure of speculative or “pipeline” roles.
• One founder‑type proposes a paid job board that vets employers and bans ghost listings; others question monetizing jobseekers and the classic “dating site” incentive problem.