When a Job Isn't a Job

There's a dirty little secret employers and recruiters don't want you to know, and that is that many times the jobs posted aren't really going to lead to hiring anyone. Working at Monster for a decade I was able to engage with thousands of employers and even more job seekers. Job seekers were often frustrated that they would apply to jobs and never hear anything, or be contacted by email or phone from someone who found their resume on Monster only to discover it was an "investment opportunity" or "career coach" advertisement.

Here's some of the tricks I discovered that employers and staffing agencies use:

1. Posting jobs to fill our resume database:  Staffing agencies promote themselves as having the largest pool of qualified applicants available.  To get resumes, they often post jobs that don't exist to get applicants that will help with their promotion.  Staffing agencies aren't alone.  Employers will do the same thing for potential future hires.


2. Posting jobs to test the market:  Employers will post jobs with no intention of hiring so that they can get an idea for what the salary range in the market is. They use this to justify low raises, or turning over higher paid staff for those willing to work harder for less. Getting complete salary surveys costs more than posting a job, so it's a lower cost way to test the local market.


3. We want to sell you something:  There are three kinds of jobs out there and they're color-coded.  White jobs are authentic jobs.  Black jobs are fraudulent or unacceptable jobs.  Gray jobs fall in between.  For example, is Avon sales a real job or a multi-tiered marketing scheme?  Is working at home stuffing envelopes a real job?  Does a job board accept "exotic dancer" as a job.  Companies will post jobs so they can get contact lists of people to call for gray market jobs, plus to try to sell you "investment opportunities," "career counseling/coaching" or "career products." Be wary.

Share your thoughts and reflections.  Would love to hear what you've encountered.