Is the position closed? Or not?

20 Comments

1. OLIVIA JOHNSONFebruary 24,2026 at 6:30PM UTC

   Hi there!

   Great question! This actually happens more often than people know. There are several reasons a position can be put on hold AND several reasons why you still see it listed on job boards and even reposted if it has been set to repost or refresh to bring it back to the forefront. You actually may have brought it to their attention that they need to turn their system prompts off on this role.

   I would go with what the Recruiter is sharing with you. She/He would be more in the know than your internal connection. Unless she/he is somehow visibly or included in knowing if they are still interviewing for this position, I would just take it at face value that it's on hold and that it may have nothing to do with you not being a good fit.

   The other reason I would lean towards it not being you is that the HR Manager actually responded lol. This may sound horrible but many have shared, if not wanting to move forward with you and there was a serious concern about you as a candidate you would have quickly already received the dreaded canned decline email and/or a slow or no response from the recruiter, not professional, but just sharing the things that would make me more inclined to think it had something to do with you as a candidate.

   I would recommend staying in close contact with this Recruiter. Depending on how interested you are in this role and/or company I would check in next week and this time kindly ask if there is any knowledge on the likelihood and timeframe that she/he thinks the opportunity may resume. This will help you with if/when to check in for the future.

   In the interim, still keep an eye out for other roles within the company, and if there is something else that is similar and within the wheelhouse of the current role you were interested in you can still reach back out and inquire about the new role.

   Hope this helps.

   Coach Olivia

2. Davia MadariagaFebruary 24,2026 at 8:27PM UTC

   Thank you! That does make sense. The HR manager and I had a good rapport, so I'll definitely keep that going.

3. AnonymousFebruary 24,2026 at 7:23PM UTC

   No reason not to keep this on the back burner.

4. AnonymousFebruary 25,2026 at 2:59AM UTC

   There's no magic answer here. Just keep creating options so you don't waste energy focus on a single "what if" it's exhausting.

5. AnonymousFebruary 25,2026 at 1:41PM UTC

   This is the story of the current job market. I'm sorry to say. I was laid off a year and a half ago and many of the roles I was a finalist for ghosted me and then reposted the role. A year later in January the same roles showed up in my job alerts. I'm working but keep my alerts on.

   Anyway, it could be budget, hiring freeze, or just terrible hiring practices.

6. AnonymousFebruary 25,2026 at 11:36PM UTC

   In the same boat. Laid off almost a year ago. Few good interviews, yet no job offer still. Disheartening, as I've never had difficulties landing a new job before. HR = internal recruiters that I've interacted with have shared their jobs are also being reduced.

7. AnonymousFebruary 25,2026 at 1:59PM UTC

   Did the COMPANY repost it on LinkedIn? Or was it just there as a “job you may be interested in?” There’s a lot of third-party scraping on LI.

8. AnonymousFebruary 25,2026 at 3:09PM UTC

   Keep in mind it’s been a “thing” now that many companies post ghost jobs and actually interview for them with no intention of filling the role. They’re collecting data/making employees think they’re getting needed team member and so many other shady reasons. Been several articles written about this and I’m pretty sure I’ve experienced this several times. Since COVID job hunting has become much more difficult.

9. AnonymousFebruary 25,2026 at 4:48PM UTC

   Do you know why the role was opened? If it was a brand new position they may be recalibrating based upon folks they interviewed and what the market has shown them thus far. Alternatively if they are on a calendar year they might have put it on hold because of budget redo's which often happen about this time for those companies that overplan hiring and then pull back.

   I would not hold your breath for this to resolve immediately. Best is to email the Recruiter (I assume you meant this vs HR) and the highest level person you met in the process. Reconfirm your strong interest in the position and moving forward and then let it go. You could ask for a timeline in the note but perhaps letting them know you are active and would like to know if you are no longer being considered as a courtesy would be best. Good luck in your search.

10. Davia MadariagaFebruary 25,2026 at 11:18PM UTC

    I've actually been talking to HR, not a recruiter. It could be a recalibration of budget. I did ask him to let me know if the position actually opens up.

11. AnonymousFebruary 27,2026 at 3:02AM UTC

    OP above: if you are in touch with someone directly find out why they opened it the first time. That may help you to assess if the role is worth waiting for. Perhaps once they firm up their budget they will go back to the spot they left off with you in the mix. Hoping for that for you and good luck!

12. GirlBossanova934974February 25,2026 at 5:36PM UTC

    Write this one off. This is a company telling you that they have too many cooks in the kitchen. HR is saying one thing. The hiring manager is doing something completely different. No one is on the same page. Insiders know this sort of thing goes on all the time. No one does anything about it. This is a common occurrence with companies that hire managers who don't care how they waste other people's time and money.

13. Ana VazquezFebruary 25,2026 at 10:19PM UTC

    Companies get tax incentives if they appear to be hiring, so they post "ghost jobs". This is also a tactic used to pressure workers to perform better so they don't get replaced, while also making them think they're going to get more hands on deck. It's also another way to give the appearance of a thriving business to investors. You'd think the time and resources spent hiring for a ghost job would outweigh the benefits, but apparently not.

    Edit: I forgot to mention until I saw another comment on here, that there is also an uptick in ghost roles for data collection specifically to train their AI screening. More applications means more data which is supposed to lead to improved AI performance. Job boards have always been data ecosystems first, hiring platforms second.

14. Farah BajwaFebruary 26,2026 at 8:08PM UTC

    I'd add another possibility that the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing. Too disorganized.

15. AnonymousFebruary 25,2026 at 11:31PM UTC

    "Something's fishy in Denmark!"

16. AnonymousFebruary 26,2026 at 1:32PM UTC

    Is this at HCA? they have done something similar. Makes you wonder if the job ever existed.

17. Kim PfeifferFebruary 26,2026 at 8:28PM UTC

    Just my opinion, but I think they're just building a pool of candidates for future openings.

18. Ana VazquezFebruary 27,2026 at 12:44AM UTC

    I never said there were incentives for posting open roles, but I can see where you'd get that impression. I said they get incentives if they appear to be hiring, which includes payroll tax credits, state level credits and higher likelihood of being awarded government funds. Posting ghost roles is simply one of the low effort tactics used in conjunction with everything else needed to demonstrate eligibility for these incentives. As a CPA, I am confident in your ability to research these incentives on your own, best of luck.

19. Ana VazquezFebruary 28,2026 at 12:35AM UTC

    I gave you plenty of keywords for you to do your own research. Google is free.

20. Ana VazquezMarch 9,2026 at 3:10AM UTC

    I'm not going to provide more free labor to those unwilling to do their own research, or waste my time reiterating myself to those lacking reading comprehension skills. I encourage everyone to do their own research and reach their own conclusions.