When you're ready to apply · 5 min read
Is this job post real? How to spot a ghost job
Check the date, the reposts, the company's own careers page and what the post asks of you. A few minutes of checks can save an evening of applying.
The short answer
A ghost job is a post for a role that isn't being filled, or not soon. You can't always tell, but a few checks help: see whether the same job is on the company's own careers page, whether it's been reposted for months, and whether the post names a team, a manager and a start date. A scam is different: be wary of any post that asks for money, bank details or personal documents before an interview.
On this page 4 sections
Applying well takes time, so it's worth a few minutes to check the job is there to be had.
Five checks before you apply
- Find the same job on the company's own careers page.
- Look at the date, and search the title and company to see if it's been posted again and again.
- Check the post names a team, a location and what the first months involve.
- Look up the company: a real website, real people in the team, recent news.
- Notice what it asks of you. A real application asks for a CV and some answers, never money.
Signs it may be a ghost job
- The same post reappears every few weeks for months.
- It's on job boards but not on the company's site.
- It's vague about the team, the work and the start date.
Signs it may be a scam
- Pay that's far above similar roles for little experience.
- A job offer without an interview.
- Requests for money, bank details or ID documents early on.
- Messages from a personal email address or only through a chat app.
OffLadder CV is our free Chrome extension for this step. Open a job post and it lists the post's must-haves, shows which ones your CV already mentions, and rewrites your CV for that job. It checks every change against the CV you gave it, so it never adds experience you don't have.
Questions people ask
- Why do companies post jobs they don't fill?
- Reasons vary: a hire was frozen after the post went up, the role was filled internally, or the post is kept open to collect CVs for later. None of them are visible from the outside, which is why the checks below look for signs rather than proof.
- Is an old job post always a ghost job?
- No. Some roles take months to fill, and some posts stay up by mistake after they close. An old post on the company's own site with a named team is still worth an application.
- How do I tell a scam from a ghost job?
- A ghost job wastes your time. A scam wants something from you: money for training or equipment, bank details, or ID documents before you've met anyone. If a post or recruiter asks for those early, stop and check the company directly.
- Should I still apply if I'm not sure?
- If the role is on the company's own site and you can tailor quickly, yes. Spend more of your effort on the posts that pass every check.
- Can OffLadder CV check a post for me?
- OffLadder CV runs some of these checks when you open a post, such as whether it has been reposted and whether it's on the company's own site, and shows them beside the job's must-haves.
Exercises are practice, not evidence of career fit or a qualification. How to read our guides and report a correction.
How this page is written
Sources support the factual background, not a guarantee that an exercise predicts career fit. Fictional practice material is labelled. Dates record content updates; no independent expert review is implied. More about OffLadder.