Ghost Job Checker · free, no account
Does this posting lead anywhere?
In brief · updated Jan. 12, 2027
Ghost Job Checker
A ghost job is posted with no real intention to hire, or for a position that's already filled. On the Greenhouse hiring platform, that's 18% to 22% of postings every quarter.
Paste a link: we check 8 public signals in a few seconds, and you get a verdict in plain words, with its reasons. Free, no account: the link isn't stored.
Sources: Greenhouse, Dec. 2024 report; in Canada, 56% of people believe they've applied to a ghost job (Angus Reid survey for Employment Hero, Jan. 2026).
Example · employer hidden
Data Analyst · Montréal · employer hidden
- Reposts Reposted 6 times since August, with identical text. Signal
- Posting age Online for 94 days. Signal
- Closing date No closing date. Signal
- Careers site Missing from the company's careers site. Signal
- Salary Posted: $72,000 – $90,000, in line with the market. Reassuring
- Duplicate text Same posting, word for word, in 3 cities. Signal
- Contact details The company's contact details can be verified. Reassuring
- Payment No payment requested. Reassuring
Verdict · 5 signals out of 8
Likely ghost
Reposted over and over, missing from the company's website, the same posting in three cities: this job probably leads nowhere. No need to spend your evening on it.
3 similar postings, all real, this week
- Principal Data Analyst · Montréal · hybrid · $78,000 – $92,000
- BI Analyst · Laval · hybrid · $82,000 – $90,000
- Senior BI Analyst · remote · $88,000 – $98,000
Employers named in the app · 7-day trial
Demo: this verdict is the one for the sample posting. The real checker reads the posting you paste. Employers are never named in public examples.
Don't send anything: no money, no Social Insurance or Social Security number, no ID.
Already paid? Alert your bank and report it to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, or in the United States to the FTC.
Method
8 signals, one by one.
All public, all verifiable by you. None of them alone is enough to condemn a posting, except the last one.
Reposts
How many times the same posting comes back. Reposted over and over with the same text, it often serves to fill a resume bank rather than a position.
Example · 6 times since August
Posting age
How long it's been online. A real position is often filled within a few weeks; posted for months, the posting may have been forgotten, or already filled.
Example · 94 days
Closing date
Whether a deadline is announced. Its absence doesn't accuse anyone, but it adds to the other signals.
Example · no date
Careers site
Whether the posting exists on the company's own website. Present everywhere except on the employer's site: that's worth asking about.
Example · missing from the official site
Salary
Whether a salary is posted, and whether it holds up against the market. Missing, too low, or three times too high: each one says something.
Example · “$4,500 a week”
Duplicate text
Whether the same text circulates word for word in several cities, or under several company names.
Example · the same posting in 3 cities
Contact details
Whether the employer can be reached through verifiable channels: a website, an address, an email in the company's name.
Example · a free email service, nothing more
Payment request · decisive signal
Whether you're asked for money: registration, training or equipment fees. This signal is enough on its own: the posting becomes “suspicious.”
Example · $49 in “registration fees”
The scale
A verdict in plain words, never a fake percentage.
We count the signals present. To say “likely ghost,” it takes at least 3, including a strong one: reposted again and again, online for a long time, or missing from the company's website. No closing date and a missing or abnormal salary count as one together. A single payment request is enough to say “suspicious.”
- Likely real
- fewer than 3 signals, or no strong one
- Likely ghost
- 3 or more signals, including a strong one
- Suspicious
- as soon as a payment is requested, whatever the count
We never name an employer. We show you what we see.
A ghost job doesn't always mean bad intent: a filled position someone forgot to take down, a resume bank. So public examples are hidden, and the Index ranks no companies, only sectors and cities.
Handoff token · single use
Your real postings are waiting in the app.
There, employers are named, and every new posting is checked before it's shown to you.
- What's sent
- The verdict, its reasons and the similar postings.
- What isn't sent
- The link you checked: already forgotten.
Works only once, valid for 24 hours.
Full 7-day trial: all of panacheo, exactly like a subscription, with no usage limits. A reminder 2 days before it ends, cancel in 2 taps.
Frequently asked questions
What is a ghost job?
A job posting published with no real intention to hire, or for a position that's already filled. It may be used to fill a resume bank, or stay online by oversight.
How does the checker decide?
It checks 8 public signals. The posting is called likely ghost from 3 signals up, including at least one strong one (reposted, online for a long time, missing from the company's website); no closing date and a missing or abnormal salary count as a single signal together. As soon as a payment is requested, it's called suspicious, whatever the rest.
Can the verdict be wrong?
Yes, it's a set of clues, not proof. That's why we say “likely” and show each signal: you can check everything yourself before deciding.
Do you keep the link I paste?
No. It's used for the check, then forgotten. Only the verdict, without the link, can wait 24 hours behind a handoff token if you continue in the app.
Why 5 checks a day?
So the tool stays free and bots stay out. It's also protected against bots, with no checkbox. In the app, every posting is checked automatically.
I was asked to pay. What do I do?
Don't send anything. If you've already paid or given out personal information, alert your bank and report it to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre. In the United States, report it to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.