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Why is it so hard to find a job now? Enter Ghost Jobs

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Re: Why is it so hard to find a job now? Enter Ghost Jobs

#401

Post by HarHarVeryFunny »

karmakurtisaani wrote: post #237
yawnxyz wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Same, and I've been on the side of being the person they want to hire too. This should also be illegal, but alas

I don't think there's anything one can realistically do about this. They probably should get rid of the requirement to have an open application process altogether. If they have someone in mind they will hire, they will hire that person.

It also happens (and is very common) for H1-B positions. The company wants to hire someone specific, because they are cheaper, but legally has to advertise the job first to "prove" that they couldn't fill it with a US citizen/resident. So, the normal ploy is to precisely tailor the requirements to the person they want to hire, and then advertise the job someplace where as few as possible people will see it.

Re: Why is it so hard to find a job now? Enter Ghost Jobs

#402

Post by lotsofpulp »

s1artibartfast wrote: post #391
mistrial9 wrote: post #378

Earlier quoted context omitted.

btw the actual couch used by Marie Antionette is now on display at the San Francisco Legion of Honor.. a very expensive couch! at least a dozen people must have benefited economically from that couch.

They most certainly did! However, that is a pretty tortured comparison if that was the case. I think I would be harder to make such a cynical zing about the net benefit of allowing 10,000 doctors to immigrate.

That’s true, but in reality, the US chains the engineers and doctors with the specter of losing their visa and arduous paperwork over their head so that they are coerced into selling their labor at an even lower price.

Re: Why is it so hard to find a job now? Enter Ghost Jobs

#403

Post by silisili »

dmortin wrote: post #392
silisili wrote: post #383

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I had a similar situation/question. I knew an old coworker who was eagerly trying to get me on their team at another company. They said I had to apply and then they'd take it to their manager who was already on board with the idea. So I did, at 10PM or so at night. And within a few minutes, got a rejection email. To this day I wonder if someone clicked reject, or the system just autorejected me because of something i…

Didn't you tell to old coworker what happened? He would have probably looked into it.

Yep. They told me they(the team) don't know what happened, never saw it, and to apply again. I tried, but the system wouldn't allow it (it was one of those outsourced HR things, I forget the name).

It was more an exploratory thing, not some huge job opp, so it became more of a nuisance than it was worth. But it still left me curious how in the world said systems even work.

Re: Why is it so hard to find a job now? Enter Ghost Jobs

#404

Post by seneca »

0x20cowboy wrote: post #395
endtime wrote: post #241

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When I last changed jobs, I started looking at the end of 2021. I was a staff SWE at Google, MS CS from Stanford, etc. - a good resume. I also found myself applying into a black hole. But when I used second degree connections to get someone at the company to acknowledge I existed, everything started moving, and I ended up with great offers from both the companies I had applied in. Sometimes there are ghost roles, but…

I don’t think you intended this, but it made me chuckle… Your comment essentially boils down to “come from a privileged background and things will work out”.

What a weird point to make. Their comment says nothing about their background. It only mentions their achievements.

Re: Why is it so hard to find a job now? Enter Ghost Jobs

#405

Post by Muromec »

endtime wrote: post #241
goochphd wrote: post #145

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I once applied to a position like this. It was eerily similar to my background, and when I did a little digging I found that the group lead had even directly cited my research papers in his own research work. I applied on the site, reached out on LinkedIn to the group lead and the recruiter, and even was able to find emails for those two, which I also messaged as well. They didn't even bother to send me an automated…

When I last changed jobs, I started looking at the end of 2021. I was a staff SWE at Google, MS CS from Stanford, etc. - a good resume. I also found myself applying into a black hole. But when I used second degree connections to get someone at the company to acknowledge I existed, everything started moving, and I ended up with great offers from both the companies I had applied in. Sometimes there are ghost roles, but…

>an internal champion.

It's an interesting way to spell "corruption".

Re: Why is it so hard to find a job now? Enter Ghost Jobs

#406

Post by throwaway2037 »

georgeecollins wrote: post #321
hobs wrote: post #247

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yep, they love a giant database filled with candidates they will never check out.

To me this is like: Why work for a big company? I worked for a big company once and did not like it. Kids out of college are always drawn to the big names, and they can look good on your resume. My feeling is, if you want to work for a big company, work for a small one and make it big. I can say from experience that turns out really well.

    > Why work for a big company?
Most large corps have higher total comp compared to smaller corps.

Re: Why is it so hard to find a job now? Enter Ghost Jobs

#407

Post by programmertote »

bradley13 wrote: post #59

I once applied for a job that precisely matched my qualifications. It was crazy - the job description could have been written by someone looking at my CV. I didn't even get an interview. Likely no one did. It wasn't a ghost job, though. It was a position created for a someone they wanted to hire. Being a public institution, they were required to advertise positions. That didn't mean that they actually wanted any of t…

That's a typical process that companies, who want to sponsor green card to their internal employee, are required to do. They have to find an equally-skilled US citizen by posting jobs publicly for X amount of time. Then after they have collected applications, they "review" and reject them; use that as an evidence in filing the green card for the internal employee.

It is a broken/absurd rule and only puts more work to everyone involved (not just the applicants, the HR; the internal employee and his/her manager, who usually has to get involved in that process). The process itself is also relatively expensive (cost ~$10K+ for attorney fees; documentation and USCIS application fees). I know because I had to go through that asinine process years ago when my ex-employer (big corporation) sponsored my green card.

Re: Why is it so hard to find a job now? Enter Ghost Jobs

#408

Post by NoGravitas »

bradley13 wrote: post #59

I once applied for a job that precisely matched my qualifications. It was crazy - the job description could have been written by someone looking at my CV. I didn't even get an interview. Likely no one did. It wasn't a ghost job, though. It was a position created for a someone they wanted to hire. Being a public institution, they were required to advertise positions. That didn't mean that they actually wanted any of t…

The public institutions I'm most familiar with are required not only to advertise, but to conduct a minimum number of interviews.

Re: Why is it so hard to find a job now? Enter Ghost Jobs

#409

Post by persnickety »

0x20cowboy wrote: post #395
endtime wrote: post #241

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When I last changed jobs, I started looking at the end of 2021. I was a staff SWE at Google, MS CS from Stanford, etc. - a good resume. I also found myself applying into a black hole. But when I used second degree connections to get someone at the company to acknowledge I existed, everything started moving, and I ended up with great offers from both the companies I had applied in. Sometimes there are ghost roles, but…

I don’t think you intended this, but it made me chuckle… Your comment essentially boils down to “come from a privileged background and things will work out”.

That's an uncharitable read. Connections can be made, not only received.

Networking is different kind of work than sitting at a desk, but it's still work. The benefits of that work are seen next time you want a job. Every freelancer operates this way, for example.

Re: Why is it so hard to find a job now? Enter Ghost Jobs

#410

Post by Sohcahtoa82 »

gigel82 wrote: post #278
para_parolu wrote: post #183

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This means small companies may not get good talent that value things besides salary (wfh, perks, fun project) and will have to compete with corporations for people who only cares about money. This may (or may not) impact startups

Stop it, no one "values things besides salary", and you know it.

I mean, that's not entirely true.

Mostly true, yes. A monthly pizza and beer party won't make up for lack of salary, but extra PTO that I can use can.

Like...if I had the choice of a job that offered $200K/year but only 2 weeks PTO, and another offered only $185K but 5 weeks PTO, I'd take the latter.

Honestly I'd love a company that gave 4 weeks PTO with the option to take up to another 4 weeks unpaid.

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