Mint Primer: Are ghost jobs spooking the job hunt for Indians?

livemint.com:

Mint explains the trend and why companies resort to such tactics. Ghost jobs are vacancies posted by companies across various sectors, either on job portals or their company websites. They look like real vacancies but here’s the catch: there is no urgent need to fill these positions.

In some cases, the jobs don’t even exist. These job postings are often created with the help of artificial intelligence (AI). Within weeks of applying, the job seeker gets an automated email saying that the resume has been accepted and that it is getting processed.

However, these applications never move to the next stage. A real recruiter is absent and applicants are unable to directly contact the firm. Ghost jobs may be distressing and frustrating for applicants.

But for firms they test the market and are an indicator of the interest for jobs that may open up in the future. In other words, such postings act as a ‘data aggregation’ project where the company gets a huge bank of resumes it can dip into, going ahead. In addition, the company’s brand image as a regular recruiter is protected, particularly if it has fired people and is facing poor ratings from former employees on social media sites such as Glassdoor.

For startups, too, recruitment postings signal growth and could be particularly useful while raising funds. Mainly medium to small companies in IT, retail, quick commerce; micro, small, and medium enterprises; and startups in early stage funding. Ghost jobs are not an accepted practice in multinationals or larger corporates.

Internal teams can get questioned on the number of vacancies that have remained open for long, an audit that is absent in mid-tier companies. See when the job was advertised. Was it a few quarters back? If that