Should You Bother With Job Postings That Are Over 30 Days Old?

When you’re out of work and checking the job sites every day, you exhaust the new postings pretty quickly. Eventually, you to start those desperate clicks to the second page and beyond … ads that potentially haven’t been seen by human eyes in weeks. Land of the stale posting.

Are those jobs even open anymore? Are the companies even around? Things move pretty fast in the modern world, so who knows? It leads to the bigger question: Is it worth applying for (supposed) opportunities when the post is more than 30 days old?

Obviously, the newer the posting, the better the chances the position is still open and the recruiting process for that job is ongoing. After all, most ads get their first interest within minutes. And within a few days, most recruiting efforts have already been inundated with applications.

Those old ads might be the result of an oversight by the job website, or the consequence of the company forgetting to pull their ad. Applying in those cases would be a waste of time.

But some positions are hard to fill. Meanwhile, some companies are constantly seeking talent, and leave their postings live in a passive hope that someone great will fall into their laps. You don’t want to pass up a meaningful opportunity just because of the date on the ad.

Check If There’s an Updated Version

Look around for a newer version of the same posting. Copy and paste a key part of the text into Google and see what you get. What you found in the deep archive on one site might just be a remnant of a previous recruiting attempt. There might be a fresh version on another job site.

Go Directly to the Company’s Website

Most companies, even ones that use job sites to propagate their recruitment postings, will also include information about open positions on their own websites. As the company has more direct control here, their site is likely to be more accurate. If the position is still listed, it’s good evidence the firm is still accepting applications.

Contact HR

If you’re still unsure, or just excited about the position, contact the company directly. Most websites will have some way to connect with the company, maybe even a direct line to HR.

You might not receive a reply. If that happens, no harm done. However, you might strike up a correspondence that leads to something worthwhile. Even if the position you found in the ancient ad has been filled, the company might have other jobs that have since become open.

Weigh Risk/Reward

At a certain point: why not?

Lots of job sites have one-click or nearly one-click application processes. With such a low investment of time, there’s not a lot of reason to skip an older posting. The only exception would be if the application process gets complicated or requires you to put in additional effort. At that point, you have to weigh the opportunity versus the likelihood that you’re wasting your time.

Clicking around job sites can be a frustrating and time-consuming endeavor. Ready for a better solution? Time to try a recruiter.

A strong recruiting firm, like SmartTalent, can fast-track your job search. Contact SmartTalent today to learn more.