Video series: Why has this job been posted for so long?

If you've been searching for a job for longer than a few weeks, you may have found yourself thinking, “Why is this job posting still listed?”. You've probably noticed that it seems like some employers have the same job posted all the time. A lot of people assume, "Okay, they've probably already filled the position and they just forgot to take it down."

That’s not always the case. What may be going on is that some big companies have to prepare for unpredictable hiring needs. For example, a cashier doesn't show up for the third shift in a row or a waiter just walks off the restaurant floor. In these instances, they need to be able to fill those positions fast. They like to have applicants on hand, and pull qualified candidates from a pile they have been collecting. So while you may not always hear back quickly from these applications, there is a chance you're going to get called and hear back.

Snagajob members have told us how great it can be to be a couple of months into a pretty tough job search and suddenly get a call saying, "Hey, we want to interview you!" from an employer they have applied to two months back.

Now mistakes do happen, so if you come across a listing for "Mall Santa" in the middle of May, someone might have forgotten to take down the job. But, we're pretty good about checking the listings around here to make sure that doesn't happen.

Use common sense, but don't ignore a job opportunity that looks like it would be a great fit for you. These positions look like they're always open. A lot of times they really are so don't ignore the job post.

Have a question? Head over to the Snagajob YouTube channel and leave us a video response with the question you want answered. If your question is selected, we will send you a gift card and include your video in our response!