Before you apply
How to spot a ghost job.
You usually cannot know with certainty whether a company is actively hiring from the outside. But a job posting can leave signals that help you decide whether the opportunity deserves a closer look.
The most useful clues often come from what has happened to the listing over time, not just what the job description says today.
Six things to check before applying.
Check how long the job has been active
A vacancy that has remained open for an unusually long period may be worth examining more closely. Some roles legitimately take a long time to fill, so listing age should be treated as a signal rather than proof.
Look for repeated reposting
Pay attention when the same or a very similar position appears repeatedly. Reposting can be completely legitimate, but a recurring pattern can provide useful context about the vacancy.
Notice when listings disappear and return
A job that closes and later reappears may indicate an ongoing or restarted hiring process. Repeated disappear-and-reappear patterns are especially useful when viewed alongside other signals.
Check the official company career page
Whenever possible, confirm that the vacancy still exists on the company's own career website or applicant tracking system rather than relying only on a third-party job board.
Look at the company's broader posting history
One vacancy rarely tells the whole story. Patterns across other roles can provide context about how frequently a company posts, reposts or keeps vacancies active.
Consider several signals together
No single warning sign can tell you whether a company is genuinely hiring. A more useful assessment comes from combining listing history, reposting behavior and other observable information.
Does a reposted job mean it is a ghost job?
No. Companies repost vacancies for many legitimate reasons. They may be hiring several people, extending a recruitment campaign or still looking for the right candidate.
What matters more is the pattern. A role that repeatedly appears over a long period may deserve more scrutiny than a vacancy that has simply been refreshed once.
Are old job listings automatically suspicious?
Not necessarily. Some specialist positions are difficult to fill, while other companies recruit continuously for the same type of role.
Listing age becomes more informative when combined with repeated reposting, reappearances and the company's wider posting history.
Why job posting history matters.
A job page normally shows you what exists right now. It does not tell you whether the same role appeared three months ago, whether it disappeared last week or whether it has been reposted several times.
Historical data adds that missing context. It allows job seekers to evaluate how a listing has behaved over time rather than judging it from a single snapshot.
Unveil checks these patterns for you.
Unveil is a ghost job detector built around job posting history. It checks supported company career pages and compares the vacancy you are viewing with information already tracked in the Unveil database.
When enough data is available, the extension provides a ghost job risk score together with data confidence and the main reasons behind the assessment.
The score is a signal, not a verdict. It cannot reveal a company's internal hiring decisions or prove that a vacancy is or is not a ghost job.
Want the basics first?
Learn what ghost jobs are, why they matter and what common warning signs can look like.
Spend your application time wisely.
Check ghost job risk before you spend time tailoring your application.