Company's 'Ghost Job' Posting Accidentally Goes Viral, Candidates Demand Answers
Company's 'Ghost Job' Posting Accidentally Goes Viral, Candidates Demand Answers
Ever apply to a job that's been posted for months, send a perfect application, and hear absolutely nothing? And then check back weeks later and see the same job is still posted, still "actively hiring," still collecting applications like Pokemon cards?
Congratulations, you've encountered a ghost job.
And one company just got caught red-handed when their ghost job went viral on TikTok.
The Job Posting That Wouldn't Die
The role: "Senior Marketing Manager" at Elevate Brands, a mid-size consumer goods company.
The posting: Live on LinkedIn, Indeed, and Glassdoor since March 2025.
The stats: 3,400 applications received, 0 candidates interviewed, 0 offers extended.
How do we know? Because a frustrated candidate named Sophie Chen did what any rational person would do after being ghosted for the 47th time this year: she investigated.
Sophie works in data analytics. She built a scraper to track how long jobs stay posted on LinkedIn and how many people apply. She noticed Elevate Brands' Senior Marketing Manager role had been open for 237 days with no activity.
So she made a TikTok video calling them out. It went viral. 8.3 million views and counting.
The Investigation
Sophie's video included receipts:
- Screenshots of the job posting from March 2025 (still identical to the current posting in November)
- LinkedIn data showing 3,400+ applicants over 8 months
- Glassdoor reviews from applicants saying they never heard back despite being "highly qualified"
- Public LinkedIn profiles of Elevate Brands employees showing no new marketing managers hired in 2025
The comment section was brutal:
@JobSearchHell: "This is why I've given up. Companies post fake jobs to 'collect resumes' or make it look like they're growing when they're not."
@MarketingPro23: "I applied to this exact job in April. Got an auto-rejection 6 months later. SIX MONTHS."
@RecruiterConfessions: "Former recruiter here. Can confirm ghost jobs are real. Companies post them for 'pipeline building,' budget justification, or to make employees think they're getting help soon."
@TiredOfApplying: "3,400 people wasted their time applying. That's 3,400 x 30 minutes = 1,700 hours of collective human effort completely wasted."
The Company's Response (Or Lack Thereof)
Elevate Brands initially ignored the video. Then it started getting picked up by Business Insider, Fortune, and The Wall Street Journal.
Finally, the company issued a statement that was somehow both defensive and embarrassing:
"We are always looking for top talent to join our team. The Senior Marketing Manager position remains open as we search for the perfect candidate who aligns with our company culture and values. We appreciate the interest from the candidate community and take all applications seriously."
Translation: "This is a ghost job and we're not even pretending anymore."
The internet was not impressed.
Why Companies Post Ghost Jobs
According to research from Clarify Capital cited by CNBC, 27% of companies admitted to posting job openings they have no intention of filling in 2025.
Why would they do this? HR experts interviewed by Forbes identify several reasons:
1. "Pipeline Building" Companies post jobs to collect resumes for future roles that may or may not exist. It's like window shopping, except the windows are human beings.
2. Budget Justification Managers post jobs to show leadership they "need more headcount" even if budget approval hasn't happened yet. The posting stays live indefinitely while they fight for budget.
3. Employee Retention Theater Overworked teams are told "Help is coming! We're hiring!" to prevent them from quitting. Meanwhile, the job posting is just for show.
4. Market Research Companies want to see what salary ranges competitors are offering or gauge candidate interest in certain roles without actually hiring.
5. Legal Compliance Companies with internal promotion candidates sometimes post externally to comply with diversity hiring regulations, but have no intention of interviewing external candidates.
The Candidate Backlash
Sophie's video unleashed a wave of other candidates sharing their Elevate Brands horror stories:
Reddit's r/recruitinghell lit up with threads:
"I applied to Elevate Brands in May, got a rejection in October. For a job they're still posting. Make it make sense."
"I actually got a phone screen with them in June. The recruiter never called. I followed up three times. Nothing. Job is still posted."
"This company has TWELVE open roles that have been posted for 6+ months. It's clearly a systemic issue."
One particularly fed-up candidate filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) arguing that posting fake job openings constitutes deceptive business practices. Legal experts quoted by Bloomberg Law say it's unlikely to go anywhere, but the symbolism is powerful.
The LinkedIn Meltdown
Things got really spicy when the chaos spread to LinkedIn.
Candidates started tagging Elevate Brands' CEO, CMO, and Head of HR directly on posts asking why the role had been open for 8 months with no activity.
The company's LinkedIn posts about "our amazing culture" and "join our team" started getting flooded with comments like:
"Cool culture! Is that why you've left 3,400 candidates on read for 8 months?"
"I'd love to join your team! Just like the Senior Marketing Manager you totally plan to hire any day now."
"Nothing says 'amazing culture' like wasting thousands of hours of people's time with fake job postings."
Screenshots of these comments are circulating on Twitter/X, making Elevate Brands a cautionary tale for employer branding teams everywhere.
The Employment Lawyer's Take
Is posting fake jobs illegal?
According to employment attorneys interviewed by SHRM, the answer is complicated:
Not illegal in most cases, but potentially problematic if:
- The job posting violates truth-in-advertising laws
- It's used to collect personal data without proper disclosure
- It's part of a discriminatory hiring practice (posting externally while already planning to hire internally)
"There's no law that says you have to hire someone just because you posted a job," explains attorney David Park in an HR Executive interview. "But there are serious ethical and reputational issues. And increasingly, state legislatures are looking at regulating this practice."
The Aftermath
As of this writing:
- The job posting is still live on LinkedIn and Indeed (because of course it is)
- Elevate Brands' Glassdoor rating dropped from 3.8 to 2.9 in a week due to negative reviews citing the ghost job scandal
- Sophie Chen gained 142,000 TikTok followers and started a series investigating other ghost jobs
- Multiple states are now considering legislation requiring companies to remove job postings after 30 days if no interviews have occurred
The funniest part? According to anonymous sources on Blind, Elevate Brands' actual marketing team has been begging for a new hire for months. The ghost job posting exists because HR and Finance can't agree on budget, but nobody wants to admit that publicly.
So the posting stays up, collecting applications like dust, while the team burns out and candidates waste their time.
The Lesson
Ghost jobs are real, they're common, and they're destroying trust between candidates and employers.
If you're a recruiter or hiring manager: Take down job postings you're not actively filling. It takes 30 seconds and prevents your company from becoming the next viral recruiting horror story.
If you're a candidate: Look for warning signs of ghost jobs:
- Posted for 60+ days with no updates
- Hundreds or thousands of applicants on LinkedIn
- Company Glassdoor reviews mentioning "they never respond"
- Job description is vague and seems recycled
And if you're Sophie Chen: thanks for doing the lord's work and calling these companies out. You're a hero to job seekers everywhere.
Sources:
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