Job Posting Taken Down: 8 Possible Reasons & What To Do Next

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The advent of technology has transformed the way job applications are being processed by employers, which has its pros and cons.

In the same vein, applicants have also been encountering both convenience and inconvenience in catching up with all of these changes.

In today’s post, we’ll discuss a concern commonly encountered by applicants who are actively seeking a job.

And this is all about the number of reasons behind a job posting that has been taken down or removed.

 

Why does a job posting gets removed?

A job posting could be taken down when the role has been filled in, the job is being put on hold, there is either a surplus or shortage of applicants, the job description is being edited, the website subscription has expired, the job posting period has just ended, or the post is illegitimate.

 

The reasons why a job posting gets removed

A number of advantages and disadvantages actually exist for both employers and applicants because when you win some, you lose some, so to speak.

Most large-scale companies resort to online job advertisements mainly to reduce costs and recruit candidates more efficiently.

With this, applicants can also have multifarious options to choose from, compared to the traditional walk-in application.

Many employers accept online job applications, oftentimes with pre-screening tests, to filter those who meet the requirements from those who don’t.

This kind of system has increased the chances of any member of the general public to get hired.

Why so?

The rather structured features of online screening have decreased the subjective biases that recruiters may likely have when receiving recommendations and physical applications.

But then again, the automated processes behind online applications meanwhile have some negative impact on the applicants.

One negative effect of automation is that it is leaving many inexperienced applicants unaware of the nooks and crannies behind online applications, hence scratching their heads in confusion.

Due to automation, an employer can freely take job announcements down whenever they want to, which is quite bothering for those hopeful applicants.

So, here are some of the possible reasons pertaining to the issue at hand.

 

1. The job position has been filled in

The top reason why a job posting gets removed either from a company website or any other advertising platform is that, unfortunately, the position has been filled in.

Especially if the job ad has been sitting on the website for three to four weeks, the position, most likely, has already been given to another applicant.

Generally, most job postings are available for viewing within thirty days, so we had better select jobs that have only been posted for a day to a week.

 

2. The job is being put on hold by the employer

Another reason why a job posting gets taken down is that the employer has temporarily suspended the hiring process for some reason.

One reason for this could be that the employer is having doubts whether the job is really necessary at the moment or not.

Referring back to the idea of cost reduction, employers may sometimes need time to deliberate and reconsider the necessity of the role when their budget gets compromised.

If this is the reason behind the removal of the job posting, then chances are it could either be reposted or not after some time.

 

3. There is a surplus of applicants for the position

When a large pool of applications is already going on, an employer may also have to withdraw a job posting.

The recruitment team can only do so much, so the people behind the recruitment process might also decide to take the ad down to be able to focus on the ones they currently have in hand.

This is particularly true with entry-level jobs, in which large volumes of applications are a common concern.

Most of the time, many of these applicants fail to meet the minimum requirements described in the job post.

As a result, the employer withdraws the job post because of getting inundated with application processing-related tasks.

 

4. There is a shortage of applicants for the position

On the other side of the spectrum, an employer may also remove a job post because of not receiving enough applications.

Employers often pay subscription fees to advertising platforms, and thus, they might think that continuously posting a job is a waste of financial resources.

Therefore, taking a post down thereby becomes the wisest decision to make, leading the employer to reassess and restrategize the recruitment.

While employers are in the process of reevaluating the job, they may decide to take the post down with or without notice.

 

5. The job description is being edited

In conjunction with the previous reason, employers may reframe or edit the job description to attract more applicants.

Or, they may also restrategize as a result of receiving too many unqualified applications.

Depending on the employers’ evaluation results, they may adjust details related to the job requirements, job responsibilities, location, compensation, and benefits, etc.

To solve any issues concerning unsuccessful recruitment through online job postings, an employer takes the job post down while editing the job description. 

 

6. The company’s website subscription has expired

Not all companies subscribe to premium services on job advertisement platforms.

When they’re still testing the waters, they resort to limited subscription plans, again, to prevent unnecessary expense.

Although this reason might come across as less probable than the others mentioned earlier, this could actually be another angle to look at.

If the subscription expiry date is left unnoticed by an inexperienced employer, or maybe done purposely at times, a job post can also disappear all of a sudden.

 

7. The job posting period has just ended

As mentioned paragraphs ago, the average posting period is about thirty days, so a job post can also automatically vanish for this reason.

In most cases though, an applicant gets notified via email by the job advertising platform when this happens.

But, if the applicant fails to acknowledge the email notification, he or she could get confused about why the job suddenly becomes inaccessible.

 

8. The job posting is illegitimate

Lastly, a job post can also get removed when and if it is proven to be illegitimate or a scam.

When the job advertisement platform follows strict policies against doubtful job postings, it may automatically remove them from the website for safety reasons.

So, if this is the real reason for the removal, then it should be something that an applicant has to be grateful for.

Unfortunately enough, many illegal recruiters have also found some ways to compete with the changing economic climate.

 

The best options to do after a job posting gets removed

Now that we have understood the possible reasons behind a job posting’s removal, we can now go to the solutions.

Of course, I’m not going to leave you hanging. So, here are a couple of things that we can or may do after a job posting gets taken down.

 

Search the job post on other similar websites

Huge-scale companies do not merely rely on a single advertisement platform for the reason that they simply have enough funding to make it happen.

If a job post gets taken down by the website where you’ve found it, try to confirm whether or not it may still be available on other platforms.

You can do a quick search on your browser to see whether it still exists in other sites, or you can also search for the job on Linkedin to confirm.

 

Contact the company

Contacting the company could also be an option if you’ve applied for a job, passed the interview yet haven’t heard from the recruiter again.

Maybe the recruiter handling the task has suddenly stopped working and his or her tasks have not been fully turned over to another person.

Hence, sending a follow-up email would even be helpful for the recruitment team because it would serve as a reminder.

However, it would be better to do otherwise if you have been advised by the recruiter to wait for a certain amount of time.

More often than not and depending on the position being applied, the succeeding steps are explained to a qualified applicant right after a series of one or two interviews, rather than later.

 

Keep searching for other jobs

Finally, we can also condition ourselves to the fact that a certain job, despite being the most ideal, may not be for us at the moment.

Sulking in a negative town out of self-pity is just not as healthy as finding other opportunities proactively.

No matter how much we badly want to get something, things can be outside of our control sometimes.

After all, resiliency or adaptability has been the core of human civilization for generations.

So, teaching ourselves to keep going when necessary is not only healthy but also a realistic move to make.

 

Save a copy of the job post for reference (in case the job posting gets removed)

After reading this article, you should be able to deduce one extremely important lesson, and that is, to save a copy of the job posting that you’ve applied for.

You can do this in case there will be some changes to the details in the job description, including the contact information of the person in charge of the recruitment.

We can do this to make sure that we can resubmit our application or follow up on it even after the job posting gets taken down.

 

Frequently Asked Questions on “What Does it Mean When a Job Posting Gets Removed?”

 

Why was the job post removed after my interview?

It could either be the employer is deliberating on the existing applications, including your own, or it could also mean that the position has been filled in. The best action to take is to reach out to the person handling the recruitment, but you should be prepared for what he or she might say.

 

What does it mean if a job posting gets removed but the application is still under review?

Depending on how much time has passed, it could mean the role has been filled in after two or four weeks have passed, or it could also mean that your application is being reserved in case the other qualified applicant suddenly changes his or her mind.

 

What does “job posting closed” mean?

“Job posting closed” means the employer or the platform no longer accepts further applications, which could also have a number of reasons. The most common reason for this is that the job has already been filled in.

 

Conclusion

On a positive note, online applications have induced more recruitment efficiency on the employer’s side.

However, it has also catapulted the competition among job applicants, leaving the less qualified ones disconcerted yet somehow motivated to continuously strive for self-improvement.

These situations, therefore, have magnified the reality that human civilization is simply moving toward progression.