As the job search becomes more competitive, many students are left without responses from employers, making it more difficult to enter their chosen fields.
According to LinkedIn, ghost job listings are postings on job boards that are not currently opening or hiring. This is an increasing issue as Howard students have submitted applications to receive little to no response from companies.
Cathy Hughes School of Communications Academic (CHSOC) advisor Mikeisha Best said, “At the very least, even if it is a ghost job, it’ll give the students who apply to its practice. Because at some point, you’ll have to apply for jobs that are there.”
Repeatedly applying to dead-end postings can damage student confidence levels, making them question their qualifications and even delay their job search.
Ellyssa Elliot, a sophomore political science and African-American studies double major from Reading, Pennsylvania aims to have a job with a foundation in social justice and help inform the Black community.
Despite having high ambitions, her spirits were low.
“My professor and many others I’ve seen have dealt with the loss of their jobs or seen their coworkers lose their jobs. I feel that,” she said. “I’m not discouraged. It’s just confusing because many qualified people are being ripped off.”
On April 9, the District of Columbia Office of Revenue Analysis released a blog post for District Measured showing a projected loss of 40,000 federal jobs over the next four years.
This number is much higher nationwide, with U.S. employers announcing over 12,000 job layoffs in February 2025 and 270,000 in March 2025.
Because of increased layoffs, the demand for jobs is also growing.
According to Hiring Lab, applications from workers at federal agencies under review by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) surged by 50 percent in February 2025.
As a result, this leads the job market to be competitive, especially for students with less experience and connections than seasoned individuals in their desired fields.
Chinatu Achor, a freshman legal communications major from Rockville, Maryland by way of Nigeria, is looking to go into the legal industry and shared that applying for jobs is already challenging as many internships want people enrolled in law school.
“Not getting hired for positions does sometimes decrease my motivation. Because it’s really like a punch in the gut you know to keep applying and applying and not getting anything back,” she said. “But I’m going to keep applying.”
According to Clarify Capital, an investment and wealth management firm, companies may leave ghost listings open to show their company is growing or motivate current employees.
These job listings can pose some advantages for companies, such as gauging qualifications and salary range for certain positions, according to LinkedIn. However, for job seekers it has the opposite effect.
“I can see a shift in my experience applying for internships and jobs,” Elliot said. “Even hearing other people’s stories, I noticed that before people would look at our information and now I feel like it’s just like ‘Well we’d love to hear from you next year.’”
Although it can be difficult to identify a ghost job listing, Best shared advice for students looking to avoid them.
“Well that’s the point: we never really know. But you always should look at the name of a company and verify by calling,” she said.
Ghost jobs can be avoided by checking for factors such as when the job listing was posted.
Clarify Capital advised to avoid a job listing that was posted three or more months ago because employers are less likely to fill job postings that sit on the market.
Handshake, a career platform that aims to connect students to jobs despite their background or prior connections, shared in a statement to The Hilltop how the website is working to mitigate ghost job listings.
“Ghost jobs are a real problem. We recognize it’s a frustrating and discouraging experience for job seekers,” the statement said. “We limit posting duration to one year, and educational institutions can also choose to review and approve each employer and job posting.”
Copy edited by Aniyah Genama
