With Canada’s labour market seeing a rise in the unemployment rate, Canadians are searching for jobs but a new survey may signal a warning for seekers: some postings by legitimate companies may not even be real.
The survey, commissioned by career website Resume Builder and conducted by Pollfish in May, found about 40 per cent of companies had posted what was considered a “fake” job this year and three in 10 companies had what it described as active fake listings.
According to the career site, unlike a scam job posting, a fake listing is when a legitimate company posts a listing for a position it “didn’t intend to fill,” meaning even if you got an interview there was no chance you’d get the job.
“It’s a concerning scenario, particularly when these misleading postings originate from HR departments — the very entities entrusted with shaping accurate perceptions of their organizations,” Stacie Haller, Resume Builder’s chief career advisor, said in a statement.
“Whether it’s to create an illusion of company expansion or to foster a sense of replaceability among employees, such practices are not acceptable.”
While the survey did not include Canadian hiring managers, Cal Jungwirth, Robert Half Canada’s director of placement services, said the numbers speak to a bigger issue of companies considering such a process on either side of the border.
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“This is a great way to damage an organization’s brand,” he said. “The way the market will interpret that is turnover, that these organizations are actually going through a lot of people.”
Of those that posted fake jobs, about 26 per cent posted one to three listings in the past year, with 19 per cent posting five and another 19 posting 10.
There were 50 fake postings by 11 per cent of companies surveyed.
A total of 1,641 hiring managers in the U.S. were surveyed, with 649 completing the full survey. Most said these postings led to boosted revenue, morale and productivity.
The survey showed that among the goals of a fake job listing was to make the company appear that it was open to talent from outside the business, with 63 per cent saying employees would believe their workload would be alleviated by new workers.
Sixty-five per cent reported that the listings had a positive impact on morale, even though internal employees did not realize the listings were not real.
Both Jungwirth and Haller say that boost is unlikely to be long-term.
“If organizations are trying to send an internal message that help is on the way, but they don’t follow through, that will do more harm than good,” Jungwirth said.
Jungwirth said such listings could also hurt future hirings.
He notes if the same company posts the same position frequently, Canadians will pick up on this.
“Ironically, when the organization does have the intent to hire and they go to market again, some of those original candidates may be scared off from even applying or interviewing based on seeing that position posted multiple times in the past,” Jungwirth said.
Spotting a fake job is not easy, but Jungwirth said there are still methods you can use, including researching the prospective employers or tapping into personal networks in case you know people who work for the company you’re looking at.
“If it’s too good to be true, follow your gut. It may not be an opportunity that exists for whatever reason,” he said.