Companies post jobs they have zero intention of filling. You're the foot traffic. Here's how to stop wasting your weekends.
Five red flags that tell you in 60 seconds whether a posting is worth your time.
Real open roles get filled. A posting that's been up for two months with no updates is either already filled internally, frozen, or was never real. Check the original post date on LinkedIn — not the "reposted" date.
Ghost jobs are often copied from generic templates. If the requirements read like they apply to half the population — "strong communicator, team player, 5+ years experience" — with no specifics about the actual role or team, that's a sign nobody wrote this job for a real hire.
Real job openings have a hiring manager behind them. If you can't find anyone on LinkedIn who works at this company in a relevant role, or the job was posted by an anonymous "Talent Acquisition" account with no other activity, proceed with caution.
Search the company's job page history. If they've posted the same position repeatedly over 6-12 months, one of three things is true: extreme turnover, a role nobody wants to stay in, or a posting that exists permanently for brand optics. None of those are good reasons to apply.
You submitted a strong application and received a rejection the next morning. That's not a human decision — that's an automated filter on a role that either wasn't real or was already filled. It's not about you. It was never about you.
The job market is broken. Here's how to work around it.
Search jobs directly from ResumeCoach. Filter by role, location, and recency. When you find one worth applying to, generate a tailored résumé in the same workflow.
Before spending two hours on an application, run the five red flags above. If a posting hits two or more, move on. Your time is worth more than a company's foot traffic metrics.
When you find a real opportunity, a generic résumé won't get you through ATS filters. ResumeCoach rewrites your résumé for that specific job — same experience, completely rewritten to match.
Find a real job. Build a résumé that matches it. Get through the filters that have been blocking you.