Staffing companies post fake jobs to lure people in, why?

You are looking for job and viola; you see a position advertised that fits your profile like a glove. You send your CV and you didn’t any feedback and response. So hours turn into the days, a week goes by and still no response? And you start wondering if the position has been filled, but you still see the posting on the job board. You contacted the agency and still no response or something like “We are still trying to get a feedback from the company.” or you will not get any response at all.

There are some agencies on the market and they are using the trick with the fake positions.

Why they do this?

- They would like to start cooperation with new client, but they don’t have the right profiles for them in database. So they posted the fake job ad to lure the candidates so they can show the client some fresh profiles with the right skillset and start cooperation.

- Some company put up a fake ad to harvest contact information for the future. You do all the work for them and it’s really easy! You just fill in your full name, your phone number often including a cell, and you give them your email and other personal information.

This is the very quick way how to build the database.

How to “fight” that?

- Ask questions about these positions. Ask about company. Good agency is going to share more information.

- Ask about the projects about the technology that the company is using.

- Don’t just send your CV away, start checking what is going on with your CV.

- Always do your research about the posting and company, even if the job sounds legit.

Do staffing firms typically post ads for jobs that don’t exist? Know of a competitor who does? I know the Czech agency that posting fake jobs and almost 8% of all postings are fake ones.

Do you know any other “tricks” or do you have anything that you would like to share, let me know.