The market looks busy online — but much of that “activity” is theater. Postings linger, pipelines bloat, and conversion rates sink. If it feels like you’re applying into the void, you’re not imagining it — today's system is built that way.

Why “Now Hiring” Doesn’t Mean Now Hiring

Over the past two years, professionals have watched Now Hiring signs stay up while interviews dry up.

It’s not just perception — it’s data. Across major ATS platforms, 18–22% of job postings show no hiring activity at all— what recruiters call ghost jobs (Greenhouse, 2024).

A national survey found that 40% of hiring managers admitted their company had posted a fake job in the past year, and 30% currently have one live. Their reasons? Pipeline-building, projecting growth, or appeasing internal politics (ResumeBuilder, 2024).

Behind the Illusion

Common employer motives for “ghost jobs”:

• Keep a pipeline warm in case of turnover

• Internal candidate already chosen

• Budget pending or frozen

• Optics — signaling growth to investors or staff (SHRM, 2024)

The Evidence: Demand Is Cooler, Noise Is Louder

Job postings have cooled, but applications haven’t.

Indeed’s U.S. Job Postings Index shows postings down year-over-year (though still above pre-pandemic).

Meanwhile, LinkedIn reports a 45% jump in applications year-over-year — roughly 11,000 every minute (LinkedIn / eWeek, 2024).

And yet, completions — roles actually filled — have dropped sharply. Analytics from Revelio Labs show less than half of posted jobs now result in a hire (Revelio Labs, 2024).

Stat Box — The Modern Funnel

• 180 applications per hire (CareerPlug, 2024)

• 3% of applicants get an interview

• 27% of interviews lead to a hire

Translation: The system doesn’t reward talent — it rewards access.

The Human Cost: Application Inflation ≠ Opportunity

Candidates are told to “apply more.”

Platforms make that easy — but every click adds noise to a system already overflowing.

Recruiters drown in volume; ATS filters tighten; great candidates disappear in the static.

Most jobs are still filled through referrals and direct introductions, not cold applications. (CareerPlug, 2024).

So when it feels like job boards are black holes, it’s because — mathematically — they are.

Pro Tip — Shift Your Ratios

If 90% of your time is spent applying online, flip it. Spend most of it on referrals, conversations, and direct outreach — and use job boards for intel, not hope.

What “Ghost Jobs” Actually Are (and Are not)

Not every stale listing is malicious. Some are evergreen (always hiring), some are paused mid-search, and some exist for compliance reasons (like an internal candidate already selected).

But even conservative data suggests 1 in 5 online job listings is inactive — enough to distort the entire labor market’s signal (Greenhouse, 2024).

When the map itself is wrong, even good navigators lose time.

Behind the Illusion — Red Flags

• Role open for 90+ days with no updates

• Generic copy across multiple postings

• “We’re always looking for talent” language

• Job board listing missing from the company’s own careers page

• “Ghost rejection” emails months later

The Macro Picture: The U.S. Market with Global Crosswinds

Federal JOLTS data confirms it: openings are lower, hires are slower, and the average time-to-fill keeps climbing (BLS, 2024).

At the same time, offshoring and global hiring blur the numbers — many roles labeled “U.S.” are now distributed, shifting work to lower-cost regions.

The illusion of abundance persists, but the demand is increasingly elsewhere..

How to Stop Playing to Illusions (HIP’s Take)

Stop competing where the pile is tallest: Treat mass-apply platforms as data sources, not pipelines.
Go direct to decision-makers: Conversations — not applications — drive outcomes.
Lead with outcomes, not chronology: Replace linear résumés with short, business-relevant impact vignettes.
Build a referral engine: Referrals are 11× more likely to lead to a hire.
Audit before you apply: If a posting feels vague, recycled, or misaligned with the company site — it probably is.

What HIP Does Differently

Recruiters work for their company and the hiring company (agencies).

We work for you.

At Higher Impact People, we advocate for professionals the same way agents represent talent — with research, precision, and strategy.

We don’t chase ghosts. We go direct.

We measure progress not in applications, but in human replies and conversations — where the real market still lives.

The openings that matter aren’t always posted.

Find the ones that are real. Book an Exploration Call.

References

Greenhouse. (2024). 2024 State of Job Hunting Report. https://www.greenhouse.com/blog/greenhouse-2024-state-of-job-hunting-report
ResumeBuilder. (2024, April 30). 3 in 10 Companies Currently Have Fake Job Posting Listed.https://www.resumebuilder.com/3-in-10-companies-currently-have-fake-job-posting-listed/
LinkedIn / eWeek. (2024, July 24). AI Job Applications Surge: 11,000 Per Minute and +45% YoY.https://www.eweek.com/news/ai-job-applications-linkedin/
CareerPlug. (2024, April). 2024 Recruiting Metrics Report. https://www.careerplug.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/2024-Recruiting-Metrics-Report-1.pdf
Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). (2024, March 7). Ghost Jobs: The Fake Job Ads Phenomenon. https://www.shrm.org/topics-tools/news/talent-acquisition/ghost-jobs-fake-job-ads-phenomenon
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). (2024, September). Job Openings and Labor Turnover (JOLTS). https://www.bls.gov/news.release/jolts.toc.htm
Revelio Labs. (2024, May). Ghost Job Postings — Labor Market Signals.https://www.reveliolabs.com/news/macro/ghost-job-postings/
PR Newswire / ClearStar Survey. (2024, June 10). “Anxious Yet Undeterred”: 48% of US Workers Job Hunting Despite Phantom Jobs and AI Barriers. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/anxious-yet-undeterred-48-of-us-workers-surveyed-say-they-are-on-the-job-hunt-despite-hurdles-like-phantom-jobs-ghosting-bias-and-ai-bot-vs-bot-market-302327722.html

Original Post on LinkedIn. October 27th, 2025

~ Nicholas Brandenburg (Founder, Higher Impact People)

Ghost Jobs, Job Posting Theater & the Illusion of Demand

The market looks busy online — but much of that “activity” is theater. Postings linger, pipelines bloat, and conversion rates sink. If it feels like you’re applying into the void, you’re not imagining it — today's system is built that way.

Why “Now Hiring” Doesn’t Mean Now Hiring

Over the past two years, professionals have watched Now Hiring signs stay up while interviews dry up.

It’s not just perception — it’s data. Across major ATS platforms, 18–22% of job postings show no hiring activity at all— what recruiters call ghost jobs (Greenhouse, 2024).

A national survey found that 40% of hiring managers admitted their company had posted a fake job in the past year, and 30% currently have one live. Their reasons? Pipeline-building, projecting growth, or appeasing internal politics (ResumeBuilder, 2024).

Behind the Illusion

Common employer motives for “ghost jobs”:

• Keep a pipeline warm in case of turnover

• Internal candidate already chosen

• Budget pending or frozen

• Optics — signaling growth to investors or staff (SHRM, 2024)

The Evidence: Demand Is Cooler, Noise Is Louder

Job postings have cooled, but applications haven’t.

Indeed’s U.S. Job Postings Index shows postings down year-over-year (though still above pre-pandemic).

Meanwhile, LinkedIn reports a 45% jump in applications year-over-year — roughly 11,000 every minute (LinkedIn / eWeek, 2024).

And yet, completions — roles actually filled — have dropped sharply. Analytics from Revelio Labs show less than half of posted jobs now result in a hire (Revelio Labs, 2024).

Stat Box — The Modern Funnel

• 180 applications per hire (CareerPlug, 2024)

• 3% of applicants get an interview

• 27% of interviews lead to a hire

Translation: The system doesn’t reward talent — it rewards access.

The Human Cost: Application Inflation ≠ Opportunity

Candidates are told to “apply more.”

Platforms make that easy — but every click adds noise to a system already overflowing.

Recruiters drown in volume; ATS filters tighten; great candidates disappear in the static.

Most jobs are still filled through referrals and direct introductions, not cold applications. (CareerPlug, 2024).

So when it feels like job boards are black holes, it’s because — mathematically — they are.

Pro Tip — Shift Your Ratios

If 90% of your time is spent applying online, flip it. Spend most of it on referrals, conversations, and direct outreach — and use job boards for intel, not hope.

What “Ghost Jobs” Actually Are (and Are not)

Not every stale listing is malicious. Some are evergreen (always hiring), some are paused mid-search, and some exist for compliance reasons (like an internal candidate already selected).

But even conservative data suggests 1 in 5 online job listings is inactive — enough to distort the entire labor market’s signal (Greenhouse, 2024).

When the map itself is wrong, even good navigators lose time.

Behind the Illusion — Red Flags

• Role open for 90+ days with no updates

• Generic copy across multiple postings

• “We’re always looking for talent” language

• Job board listing missing from the company’s own careers page

• “Ghost rejection” emails months later

The Macro Picture: The U.S. Market with Global Crosswinds

Federal JOLTS data confirms it: openings are lower, hires are slower, and the average time-to-fill keeps climbing (BLS, 2024).

At the same time, offshoring and global hiring blur the numbers — many roles labeled “U.S.” are now distributed, shifting work to lower-cost regions.

The illusion of abundance persists, but the demand is increasingly elsewhere..

How to Stop Playing to Illusions (HIP’s Take)

Stop competing where the pile is tallest: Treat mass-apply platforms as data sources, not pipelines.
Go direct to decision-makers: Conversations — not applications — drive outcomes.
Lead with outcomes, not chronology: Replace linear résumés with short, business-relevant impact vignettes.
Build a referral engine: Referrals are 11× more likely to lead to a hire.
Audit before you apply: If a posting feels vague, recycled, or misaligned with the company site — it probably is.

What HIP Does Differently

Recruiters work for their company and the hiring company (agencies).

We work for you.

At Higher Impact People, we advocate for professionals the same way agents represent talent — with research, precision, and strategy.

We don’t chase ghosts. We go direct.

We measure progress not in applications, but in human replies and conversations — where the real market still lives.

The openings that matter aren’t always posted.

Find the ones that are real. Book an Exploration Call.

References

Greenhouse. (2024). 2024 State of Job Hunting Report. https://www.greenhouse.com/blog/greenhouse-2024-state-of-job-hunting-report
ResumeBuilder. (2024, April 30). 3 in 10 Companies Currently Have Fake Job Posting Listed.https://www.resumebuilder.com/3-in-10-companies-currently-have-fake-job-posting-listed/
LinkedIn / eWeek. (2024, July 24). AI Job Applications Surge: 11,000 Per Minute and +45% YoY.https://www.eweek.com/news/ai-job-applications-linkedin/
CareerPlug. (2024, April). 2024 Recruiting Metrics Report. https://www.careerplug.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/2024-Recruiting-Metrics-Report-1.pdf
Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). (2024, March 7). Ghost Jobs: The Fake Job Ads Phenomenon. https://www.shrm.org/topics-tools/news/talent-acquisition/ghost-jobs-fake-job-ads-phenomenon
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). (2024, September). Job Openings and Labor Turnover (JOLTS). https://www.bls.gov/news.release/jolts.toc.htm
Revelio Labs. (2024, May). Ghost Job Postings — Labor Market Signals.https://www.reveliolabs.com/news/macro/ghost-job-postings/
PR Newswire / ClearStar Survey. (2024, June 10). “Anxious Yet Undeterred”: 48% of US Workers Job Hunting Despite Phantom Jobs and AI Barriers. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/anxious-yet-undeterred-48-of-us-workers-surveyed-say-they-are-on-the-job-hunt-despite-hurdles-like-phantom-jobs-ghosting-bias-and-ai-bot-vs-bot-market-302327722.html

Original Post on LinkedIn. October 27th, 2025

~ Nicholas Brandenburg (Founder, Higher Impact People)

Ghost Jobs, Job Posting Theater & the Illusion of Demand

The market looks busy online — but much of that “activity” is theater. Postings linger, pipelines bloat, and conversion rates sink. If it feels like you’re applying into the void, you’re not imagining it — today's system is built that way.

Why “Now Hiring” Doesn’t Mean Now Hiring

Over the past two years, professionals have watched Now Hiring signs stay up while interviews dry up.

It’s not just perception — it’s data. Across major ATS platforms, 18–22% of job postings show no hiring activity at all— what recruiters call ghost jobs (Greenhouse, 2024).

A national survey found that 40% of hiring managers admitted their company had posted a fake job in the past year, and 30% currently have one live. Their reasons? Pipeline-building, projecting growth, or appeasing internal politics (ResumeBuilder, 2024).

Behind the Illusion

Common employer motives for “ghost jobs”:

• Keep a pipeline warm in case of turnover

• Internal candidate already chosen

• Budget pending or frozen

• Optics — signaling growth to investors or staff (SHRM, 2024)

The Evidence: Demand Is Cooler, Noise Is Louder

Job postings have cooled, but applications haven’t.

Indeed’s U.S. Job Postings Index shows postings down year-over-year (though still above pre-pandemic).

Meanwhile, LinkedIn reports a 45% jump in applications year-over-year — roughly 11,000 every minute (LinkedIn / eWeek, 2024).

And yet, completions — roles actually filled — have dropped sharply. Analytics from Revelio Labs show less than half of posted jobs now result in a hire (Revelio Labs, 2024).

Stat Box — The Modern Funnel

• 180 applications per hire (CareerPlug, 2024)

• 3% of applicants get an interview

• 27% of interviews lead to a hire

Translation: The system doesn’t reward talent — it rewards access.

The Human Cost: Application Inflation ≠ Opportunity

Candidates are told to “apply more.”

Platforms make that easy — but every click adds noise to a system already overflowing.

Recruiters drown in volume; ATS filters tighten; great candidates disappear in the static.

Most jobs are still filled through referrals and direct introductions, not cold applications. (CareerPlug, 2024).

So when it feels like job boards are black holes, it’s because — mathematically — they are.

Pro Tip — Shift Your Ratios

If 90% of your time is spent applying online, flip it. Spend most of it on referrals, conversations, and direct outreach — and use job boards for intel, not hope.

What “Ghost Jobs” Actually Are (and Are not)

Not every stale listing is malicious. Some are evergreen (always hiring), some are paused mid-search, and some exist for compliance reasons (like an internal candidate already selected).

But even conservative data suggests 1 in 5 online job listings is inactive — enough to distort the entire labor market’s signal (Greenhouse, 2024).

When the map itself is wrong, even good navigators lose time.

Behind the Illusion — Red Flags

• Role open for 90+ days with no updates

• Generic copy across multiple postings

• “We’re always looking for talent” language

• Job board listing missing from the company’s own careers page

• “Ghost rejection” emails months later

The Macro Picture: The U.S. Market with Global Crosswinds

Federal JOLTS data confirms it: openings are lower, hires are slower, and the average time-to-fill keeps climbing (BLS, 2024).

At the same time, offshoring and global hiring blur the numbers — many roles labeled “U.S.” are now distributed, shifting work to lower-cost regions.

The illusion of abundance persists, but the demand is increasingly elsewhere..

How to Stop Playing to Illusions (HIP’s Take)

Stop competing where the pile is tallest: Treat mass-apply platforms as data sources, not pipelines.
Go direct to decision-makers: Conversations — not applications — drive outcomes.
Lead with outcomes, not chronology: Replace linear résumés with short, business-relevant impact vignettes.
Build a referral engine: Referrals are 11× more likely to lead to a hire.
Audit before you apply: If a posting feels vague, recycled, or misaligned with the company site — it probably is.

What HIP Does Differently

Recruiters work for their company and the hiring company (agencies).

We work for you.

At Higher Impact People, we advocate for professionals the same way agents represent talent — with research, precision, and strategy.

We don’t chase ghosts. We go direct.

We measure progress not in applications, but in human replies and conversations — where the real market still lives.

The openings that matter aren’t always posted.

Find the ones that are real. Book an Exploration Call.

References

Greenhouse. (2024). 2024 State of Job Hunting Report. https://www.greenhouse.com/blog/greenhouse-2024-state-of-job-hunting-report
ResumeBuilder. (2024, April 30). 3 in 10 Companies Currently Have Fake Job Posting Listed.https://www.resumebuilder.com/3-in-10-companies-currently-have-fake-job-posting-listed/
LinkedIn / eWeek. (2024, July 24). AI Job Applications Surge: 11,000 Per Minute and +45% YoY.https://www.eweek.com/news/ai-job-applications-linkedin/
CareerPlug. (2024, April). 2024 Recruiting Metrics Report. https://www.careerplug.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/2024-Recruiting-Metrics-Report-1.pdf
Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). (2024, March 7). Ghost Jobs: The Fake Job Ads Phenomenon. https://www.shrm.org/topics-tools/news/talent-acquisition/ghost-jobs-fake-job-ads-phenomenon
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). (2024, September). Job Openings and Labor Turnover (JOLTS). https://www.bls.gov/news.release/jolts.toc.htm
Revelio Labs. (2024, May). Ghost Job Postings — Labor Market Signals.https://www.reveliolabs.com/news/macro/ghost-job-postings/
PR Newswire / ClearStar Survey. (2024, June 10). “Anxious Yet Undeterred”: 48% of US Workers Job Hunting Despite Phantom Jobs and AI Barriers. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/anxious-yet-undeterred-48-of-us-workers-surveyed-say-they-are-on-the-job-hunt-despite-hurdles-like-phantom-jobs-ghosting-bias-and-ai-bot-vs-bot-market-302327722.html

Original Post on LinkedIn. October 27th, 2025

~ Nicholas Brandenburg (Founder, Higher Impact People)

Ghost Jobs, Job Posting Theater & the Illusion of Demand