Exit story · Agency / Consulting
The "Ghost Job" Playbook: We Posted Roles We Were Never Going To Fill
ExRecruiter_Maya·Whistleblower
Ex-TalentForge·Technical Recruiter·Technical Recruiting·1 year, 5 months·Atlanta, GA
· Left in 2026
8.6
Toxicity
The LinkedIn Spin
Loved helping so many talented engineers find their next chapter at TalentForge. Grateful for the journey!
The Unfiltered Truth
About a third of our public postings were "pipeline builds" — no req, no budget, no hiring manager. We kept them up to look like we were growing and to harvest resumes for later. Candidates did take-home assignments for jobs that did not exist. I asked what we tell people who follow up. The answer was "nothing, they stop."
Exhibit A · Manager Receipt
“"Keep evergreen reqs live — it signals growth to clients. No need to respond to follow-ups on pipeline roles." — Recruiting ops, Monday sync notes”
Red flags
- #Ghost Jobs
- #Fake Take-Homes
- #Candidate Manipulation
Reality check
Work-life balance
3/5
Management sanity
2/5
Compensation reality
2/5
Gaslighting frequency
5/5