Do many employers advertise jobs that have been taken?

slugger09

I've come across it a few times, you see a job you apply but unknown to you what has really happened is the employer gave the job to someone he knows or came in of the street but for fair employment reasons the job must be advertised so he sticks up an advert to keep himself right.

I had applied for a job advertised 2 weeks ago in the job centre, the deadline was Friday past, a former employee came in the other day and we were having a chat, the usual what you up to now etc, I was surprised to hear he was working for the firm I had applied, I told him I applied etc, he informed me it was actually him that got the job, he started a month ago, a relative of the manager.

I wonder how much this actually goes on?

Andy_L

In the private sector there is no, legal, requirement to advertise a job rather than give it to someone you know. if however they do advertise it then they must abide by the various anti-discrimination laws. A firm may have an internal policy to prevent nepotism/fraud but if you're the owner you can do what you like.

slugger09

Andy_L wrote: »

In the private sector there is no, legal, requirement to advertise a job rather than give it to someone you know. if however they do advertise it then they must abide by the various anti-discrimination laws. A firm may have an internal policy to prevent nepotism/fraud but if you're the owner you can do what you like.

I'm in Northern Ireland I believe the policy might be different

SarEl

He told you that he got the job you appplied for. He didn't tell you that he didn't do an interview or other selection process, he didn't say that he wasn't the best candidate that they had, and he didn't say that he got it because of his relative. How many people apply for jobs and don't get an interview? Lots. A deadline in the job centre does not mean that the employer won't employ someone who comes along who is just right for the job when they come - not every employer has detailed selection policies and closing dates. That doesn't mean anything untoward is going on. You are making a lot of assumptions here.

So even if what you say is true (and speaking personally, I wouldn't employ three quarters of my relatives - I know them too well) so what - you submitted an application form and your application was unsuccessful. What else could you prove?

Wellery82

Having worked in recruitment i can say there is no reason a private company would do this deliberately. The issue comes when you have adverts placed for hundreds of positions on a variety of job boards and job sites, with CVs going out to many different managers.

Often managers will verbally offer a role and won't notify HR/Recruitment straight away so adverts continue, often the recruiter may take a few days to get around to closing the adverts as they are dealing with other priorities, often they may just forget all together, they may be on leave when a role is offered and only they can access that job board with their password, or it may even be the recruiter may take the easy approach of knowing the advert will close in a couple of days anyway.

It is immensley frustrating for candidates, and not great practise, but it isn't anything malicious

RedSoleShoes

In answer to your original question, my experience is that it is recruitment agencies that do this far more than actual employers.

I think in your situation, it was laziness on their part rather than anything else. Most employers would not want to receive applications for vacancies that no longer exist however agencies love doing that :cool:

rexmedorum

slugger09 wrote: »

I've come across it a few times, you see a job you apply but unknown to you what has really happened is the employer gave the job to someone he knows or came in of the street but for fair employment reasons the job must be advertised so he sticks up an advert to keep himself right.

I had applied for a job advertised 2 weeks ago in the job centre, the deadline was Friday past, a former employee came in the other day and we were having a chat, the usual what you up to now etc, I was surprised to hear he was working for the firm I had applied, I told him I applied etc, he informed me it was actually him that got the job, he started a month ago, a relative of the manager.

I wonder how much this actually goes on?

In the academic world this is very common. Often a professor wants his former PhD student to continue working for him/her & has the budget.

BUT he was a student and not an employee, so the propper process needs to be followed, people invited and interviewed (plus expenses paid) while all along the decision has already been made, waste of everybodys time!

caledonian_princess

rexmedorum is right, I've been on both ends of that particular scenario; going through the motions of advertising/interviewing when I knew who I wanted and attending an interview for a post which was filled by an internal candidate who was always going to be appointed.

It's a drag but it's the way of the world. As a potential employee I tried to look at it as free application/interview practice; from an employer's point of view I never did find a bright side to look on - just an expensive waste of time going through the recruitment process.

scooby088

Where i used to work they would advertise internally for every position, i have got a few people application forms that way and they have got the job, they only got it after going through the interview process. I think it part of the course these days it's who you know rather than whats on your CV although that does help.

SandC

In private sector it's quite common to advertise internally for positions before using any other vehicle. Why pay an agency or the local jobs paper advertising space if there's someone suitable already there? Same goes for employing relatives... we find nothing wrong whatsoever in someone recommending their son/daughter/neighbour/cousin for a position but they will be interviewed and they will have to have the right skills to do the job. When they're in the position just like any other employee it is up to them to perform satisfactorily.

I believe in many areas of the public sector there is an obligation to advertise vacant positions even if the job's already gone - very frustrating for the job hunter and piles more paperwork for the HR department to go through as well. Quite often ads have a caveat at the bottom that if you haven't heard from them by x date then you have been unsuccessful.

Strider590

slugger09 wrote: »

he started a month ago, a relative of the manager.

I wonder how much this actually goes on?