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There have been plenty of reports stating that 20-30% of job adverts are fake, or “Ghost jobs”. Why?

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What are fake jobs?

Fake jobs are roles or position that the job poster has no intention of filling.

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Why would somone do this?

There are a variety of reasons that a job posting may be fake. Here are some of the main ones:

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It’s a scam!

We’ve dedicated a whole post to this as it’s a major problem and something all jobseekers should be hyper vigilant for. In short, scammers post jobs to try to con jobseekers into sending them money or sharing personal information which they can use against you. If you see a job ad that seems too good to be true - “earn £300 for half an hours work!” - it probably is.

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Recruiters and agencies to build up their database of candidates for future jobs.

Recruiters and agencies are selling the service of supplying companies with workers. This relies on them having quick access to the largest possible talent pool. An easy way to build this up is to post ‘jobs’ on job boards and add all the information from applicants that apply to their CRM. It’s worth noting, that being in the CRM of a few agencies isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

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Companies post an already filled job to protect themselves from discrimination claims.

This is particularly frustrating as it’s just a total waste of time not only for you as an applicant but also for the company.