That Plum Job Listing May Just Be a Ghost
A mystery permeates the job market: You apply for a job and hear nothing, but the ad stays online for months. If you inquire, the company tells you it isn’t really hiring.
Not all job ads are attached to actual jobs, it turns out. The labor market remains robust, with 10.8 million job openings in January, according to the Labor Department. At the same time, companies are feeling budgetary strains and some are pulling back on hiring. Though businesses are keeping job postings up, many roles aren’t being filled, recruiters say.
Hiring managers acknowledge as much. In a survey of more than 1,000 hiring managers last summer, 27% reported having job postings up for more than four months. Among those who said they advertised job postings that they weren’t actively trying to fill, close to half said they kept the ads up to give the impression the company was growing, according to Clarify Capital, a small-business-loan provider behind the study. One-third of the managers who said they advertised jobs they weren’t trying to fill said they kept the listings up to placate overworked employees.
Other reasons for keeping jobs up, the hiring managers said: Stocking a pool of ready applicants if an employee quits, or just in case an “irresistible” candidate applied.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/that-plum-job-listing-may-just-be-a-ghost-3aafc794
I think this might be a gift link, I don't have a WSJ subscription (and never will) so I hope it works for you.
This article describes everything I have been experiencing in my current job search. Indeed, Glassdoor, Monster filter my job searches (unless I log out) and when I want to apply, many times I have to go to the employers site, who use 3rd party HR apps where I have to create an account, and often spend hours taking tests. Most of the time I never hear from anyone. One of the last interviews I did was about a year ago, I was offered a mgmt job, but it was recinded because I tested positive for THC.
One company in particular I want to mention is Petsmart. Over a nearly 20 years span, I have applied for various positions, all of which I was qualified for but I have never once received a call or email. Not once. I gave up on them.
= new reply since forum marked as read
I was driving 35 miles both ways to teach HS math here in Illinois. The HS I attended less than 10 minutes from my house posted openings again and again and I would send an email application as the job postings required. No reply. No reply. No reply over the course of 5 years. Finally my buddy who worked in the district as an administrator called me said "Hey why don't you apply for that math job they can't find anyone. " I told him my resume must be toxic because they never even bother to reply to me despite 15 years experience. He said, send me your resume I'll get you an interview tomorrow. Then a couple hours later he texted me back said "Hey are you going to email me your resume or not?" I already did. Long story short, my email domain went straight to the junk file for the school district's g-mail accounts. I got the interview and hired on the spot the next day. I had been applying for a job for 5 years and no-one ever even read it because it went straight to their spam folders. 
for nursing staff, at least. Both state and federal, maybe? As far as ancillary staff? I dunno. 
This was also probably 10-12 years ago, as well. Not sure what they're doing now there's a severe shortage of nursing staff everywhere.
