I am an individual who has experienced firsthand the challenges and frustrations of job seeking in an environment tainted by companies posting fake or "ghost" jobs over the course of the last 20 months. This practice undermines the integrity of the job market and wastes precious time job seekers spend looking for legitimate work. It's not just about me; there are millions of job seekers facing the same reality especially in the age of AI and robot application tracking software. This obfuscating practice prevents individuals from securing gainful employment and makes the job hunting process much harder than it should be. Moreover, it falsely manipulates a company's image by erroneously elevating their valuation or industry relevancy. We need to clamp down on this deceptive activity to protect job seekers and maintain a fair and accurate picture of the job market. 

In my personal job search from March 2023 until now, I have applied to over 2200 positions, have been part of 98 interview rounds and obtained 2 temporary contract offers.  Finding work should not be this difficult. 

Supporting Context:

• According to a study by the University of Oxford, approximately 29% of job posts can be categorized as "ghost jobs'', showing the scale of this issue (Oxford Research, 2019). 
• Additionally, in "a 2024 survey from MyPerfectResume, 81% of recruiters admitted to posting ads for positions that were fake or already filled…. 25% said ghost jobs helped companies gauge how replaceable their employees were, while 23% said it helped make the company appear more stable during a hiring freeze.
• Another damning 2024 report from Resume Builder said that 62% companies posted them specifically to make their employees feel replaceable. They also made ads to “trick overworked employees” into believing that more people would be brought on to alleviate their overwhelming workload. 
• After interviewing 1,641 hiring managers, Resume Builder researchers found that 40% of employers posted fake job listings in 2024, and that three in 10 currently had ghost jobs listed." (SF Gate, 2024)

I request lawmakers to enforce stricter regulations and penalties for companies posting illegitimate job roles, making it illegal. Let's protect the interests of hardworking job seekers and maintain the integrity of our job market. Please, sign this petition and help us make this crucial change.

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I am a resident of Maine and therefore have placed my congressional representatives to this petition in order to introduce it as a bill (to start). 

In the comments, please add your personal stories and the impact ghost jobs has had on your search and livelihood.