Ghost Job

02What People Think

If the advertisement is still there, the job must still be available. No reply means somebody better applied, so the next version of my resume needs to work harder.

03What’s Underneath

A listing and an intention to hire are different things. An employer may collect potential candidates for later without having a position it currently plans to fill. The advertisement looks like an invitation, while the actual opportunity is missing. The applicant cannot see that difference from the apply button.

Imagine spending your evening tailoring a letter, completing a test, and imagining the commute. Those costs fall on you immediately. Keeping a listing visible may cost the employer comparatively little. That uneven exchange can turn a routine job search into repeated effort directed at a closed door.

But silence alone does not establish a ghost job. Hiring can be slow, a role can be paused after advertising, and a real vacancy can attract more applications than anyone answers. The useful distinction is between evidence of an active hiring process and assumptions made from an old listing.

04The Game

What would show that this opening has an approved hire and a real timetable? How much more unpaid effort will you invest before the employer answers that basic question?