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Subject:Job ads in the Classifieds--the real truth From:Laurel Nelson <Laurel_Y_Nelson -at- NOTES -dot- SEAGATE -dot- COM> Date:Fri, 5 Feb 1999 09:29:03 -0600
A few years ago, a state job service professional told me this when I
attended an employment workshop: only 50 percent of newspaper job ads are
legitimate ads for actual jobs. The other ads are a result of employers
fishing for different types of information. I was quite surprised when I
heard this.
The ads that only list PO boxes and no company names are placed when
management wants to see if their own personnel responds to the ad.
Management suspects that their employees are not happy at the company and
might be looking for other work, and this is one way to determine if their
suspicions are correct.
Companies that are wondering if they are compensating their employees at
the market rate place ads that ask for salary history. Then, the companies
can determine if they are paying their employees too much, too little, and
so on.
The purpose of other ads is to determine how many people in a select
profession are currently looking for work and what their credentials are.
The intent behind these ads can vary; for instance, a company may want to
lay off highly paid workers and hire cheaper, less qualified employees.
