You applied. You wrote a heartfelt cover letter. You hit “Submit” with hope.
And then… nothing. You check your inbox five times. Maybe an email. Maybe a “we’ll call you.” But no. Absolutely nothing. You’ve been ghosted. Not by an ex — by a so-called employer. And what if the job you applied for was never real in the first place? Welcome to the age of ghost jobs.
What are ghost jobs?
They look normal. They sound promising. They feel legit. But behind the scenes? No real intention to hire. Maybe the role’s already taken. Maybe it was never real to begin with. Maybe it’s just a trick to look “active” or to collect CVs for a future that might never come.
Recruiting: part real, part illusion
According to global data from Indeed, ghosting exploded after the pandemic. Uncertainty grew, and so did the number of companies posting jobs they weren’t actually hiring for.
In the U.S., the numbers are getting hard to ignore. A study by ResumeBuilder shows that three out of ten companies keep job postings live for positions that no longer exist. Forbes says the number could be even higher — up to 36% of online job ads might be fake.
In Romania, things are a bit calmer, but ghost jobs are showing up on the radar. . An investigation by Revista Cariere found that 1 in 5 job listings might be a ghost. That means 20% of jobs listed may not have an active or real opening behind them.
Why would companies do this?
Some out of habit. Some for visibility. Others because it’s easier to leave a job post up than to go through the HR process of reactivating it when the need arises. Sometimes, it’s just a “let’s stay visible” kind of strategy — even when there’s no actual hiring need.
The real problem? Candidates lose time, energy, and hope. Ghost jobs drain motivation and feed frustration. They send the wrong signal: that you’re not good enough, when in reality, there was never a job to win in the first place.
How can you spot them?
Easy(ish).
If the post is old, keeps popping up, is vague and lacks details, or you never hear back (not even an automated reply), chances are it’s a ghost. Some are very well disguised. But if silence is the loudest reply you’re getting, the problem may not be you — it may be the job that never was.
That’s where Connecting Careers comes in.
We believe in real connections, face-to-face. With real people and real job opportunities. From October 9–11, at ROMAERO Bucharest, we’re bringing together companies who are ready to talk, employers who are actually hiring, pitching sessions where you can present your ideas in person, CV review corners, and direct conversations. No ghost jobs. Just real talk. Real people. Real roles. Real chances to build your future.
