Ghost jobs rank as major complaint among people looking for work

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“Ghost jobs” seem to have become a bigger issue for people applying for work, with 48 per cent saying they have been “ghosted” by an employer during the interview process, according to a recent survey.

Postings for positions that are non-existent or have already been filled, or ghost jobs, have outranked “finding a job with a salary that meets their needs” as the biggest challenge job applicants face, a survey in the United States by career sites FlexJobs and MyPerfectResume said.

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Among those who said they have been “ghosted” by an employer, 15 per cent experienced this at least once, while 33 per cent said it has happened to them more than once.

In May, the Ontario government announced it would crack down on what it described as “exploitative employers” by proposing legislative changes that would discourage ghosting job seekers through increased fines for employment standards violations.

“We are sending a clear message to those bad actor employers out there that there are real consequences for bad behaviour,” Ontario Labour Minister David Piccini said at the time.

The survey by FlexJobs polled more than 2,000 U.S.-based professionals between June 11 and 23 about their career decisions and challenges while job hunting in the current work landscape.

Other top issues job seekers cited included getting responses from applications, recognizing and avoiding job scams and finding jobs that match their qualifications.

The survey also asked respondents whether they had ghosted a company once or more than once during the interview process. Just 10 per cent said they have, while 90 per cent said they have “never” done so, the survey said.

About 67 per cent of respondents listed unprofessional hiring managers as one of the top reasons that would make them ghost a company or pull out of the interview process.

Meanwhile, 61 per cent listed lack of communication and 60 per cent said unclear remote work arrangements, such as roles advertised as remote that are actually hybrid or in-office, as other top factors.

• Email: dpaglinawan@postmedia.com

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