Ghost job checker
Paste a link to a job posting and the checker tells you whether it looks live, closed, stale or reposted, so you can decide whether it's worth applying. It's free and needs no account.
What the verdicts mean
- Live: the posting is open and accepting applications.
- Closed: the employer has taken the posting down or no longer accepts applications.
- Stale: the job is still listed but was posted more than 30 days ago. Roles open this long are often filled or not actively hiring.
- Reposted: the job was closed and then listed again. Repeated reposts can mean a role that is slow to fill or not really hiring.
- Unknown: the checker couldn't confirm either way, for example when a job is only listed on a job board and not on the employer's own site.
How the check works
The checker looks at the posting's history, such as how long it has been listed and whether it has been closed and relisted, and at whether the listing is still open on the employer's page. It then gives one verdict and a one-line reason. Nothing is saved to an account, and the only thing you send is the link you paste.
A verdict is a guide, not proof. A "live" posting can still be one the company never intends to fill, and an "unknown" one can be perfectly real. If a job looks worth your time, email the person who would hire for it as well as applying; our guide to finding a hiring manager's email address shows how.
Why ghost jobs happen
Companies leave postings up for several reasons: to collect resumes for later, to look like they're growing, or because nobody remembered to take the listing down. Whatever the reason, the effect on you is the same: time spent on an application that was never going to be read. Checking first takes seconds. For the wider picture, read how to automate job applications, or see how Applier works: it applies only to open roles that match your profile, and shows you what it applied to.
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AWSFrequently asked questions
What is a ghost job?
A ghost job is a posting for a role the employer has no real plan to fill soon, or has already filled and never took down. In Greenhouse's 2024 State of Job Hunting report, three in five candidates said they suspect they have met one, and Greenhouse classified 18 to 22 percent of the jobs posted on its platform in any given quarter as ghost jobs.
How can I tell whether a job posting is still open?
Check whether the employer's own page still accepts applications, how long the posting has been up, and whether it was closed and relisted. The checker looks at those signals and returns live, closed, stale, reposted or unknown with a one-line reason.
Do companies really post jobs they do not plan to fill?
Some do. In a May 2024 survey of about 650 hiring managers by Resume Builder, reported by CBS News, 40 percent of companies said they had posted a fake job listing that year and 30 percent said they had one up at the time. Nearly 60 percent of the companies that did so said they collected resumes to keep on file with no plan to hire straight away.