Between 18% and 27% of online job postings are ghost jobs. Postings for roles that companies have no current intention of filling, kept live for pipeline building, perception management, or simple administrative inertia. That figure comes from multiple independent analyses, including Greenhouse's platform data and a 2025 ResumeUp.AI study of LinkedIn listings, and it's consistent with BLS JOLTS data showing a persistent monthly gap of over 2.1 million between reported openings and actual hires.

For any job seeker, that's a significant waste of time. For senior professionals specifically, it's a navigational problem, because of how senior candidates are advised to search. READ MORE