86% of Job Seekers Say They've Hit a Ghost Job. Here's What That Means

Eighty-six percent of job seekers say they've encountered a "ghost job" — a posting from an employer that isn't actually hiring — according to a new report by ResumeBuilder. Another 58% believe they've interviewed for one, and 39% say the experience has increased their frustration with the search.

The findings, reported by KMOV's First Alert 4 in St. Louis, land in a market where applicants already feel ignored. The core complaint: applications go unanswered, and some of that silence is structural, not personal.

What exactly is a ghost job?

Stacie Haller, a career adviser with ResumeBuilder.com, put it plainly: "It may have existed in the past, it might be something they want in the future, but it's a job posting that will not get an active hire on it."

Haller says employers leave these postings up for several reasons. Some are required to post openings publicly even when they've already picked a candidate. Others are testing the market.

"It could be they want to make changes in their organization and they want to see what kind of talent is out there," she said.

Takeaway: if a posting never converts to a hire, the problem is often the posting — not your resume.

What does it feel like in practice?

Lewis Isom, a St. Louis job seeker with ten years of material handling experience — shipping, receiving, forklifts — attended a job fair at the St. Louis Agency on Training and Employment (SLATE) after running into the wall many online applicants face.

"It's a job trying to get a job," he said.

Isom described a process that went further than a silent application: "Do the onboarding process and then you never hear from them again."

He also knows the cost of outright job scams, the second problem in the report — fake postings designed to steal identities and money. "You fall into getting hacked. I was hacked for like $8,000 three months ago. I got my money back," he said.

Takeaway: ghost jobs waste your time; scams can cost real money.

How do you screen a listing before applying?

Eleanie Campbell, who trains job seekers at SLATE, teaches people to verify postings independently of where they found them.

"I tell people you have to pay close attention to the URL. Or you can say, 'oh, this is Schnucks, let me go to the actual website and look for this position," she said.

The red flags she and the report flag:

• Listings posted months ago
• Salaries that seem too high for the role
• Vague job descriptions
• Any employer asking for money

Takeaway: a two-minute check against the employer's own site filters out most of the noise.

What about the bots reading your resume?

There's a second way applicants get "ghosted" without any ghost job existing: many employers now use AI to scan high volumes of resumes, and applications can disappear in that filter before a human ever sees them.

Campbell's advice is mechanical, not motivational. Mirror the job description. "You want to have your resume prepared for the applicant tracking system, meaning you want the computer or the bot to pick up the key words for your particular job," she said.

Takeaway: match your resume's language to the posting so the software passes you through.

Where can St. Louis job seekers get help?

SLATE offers free workshops and help with resumes, interviews, and other job-search resources. It's holding the Holly Jolly Holiday Hiring Fair on December 3 and 4, from 9:00 a.m. to noon. Job seekers can call (314) 589-8000 for details.

As long as mandatory-posting rules and talent-scouting listings keep open roles unfilled, the practical skill for job seekers isn't just applying — it's verifying.