I was looking for a change 6 months ago (had a job, did find a new one) and applied for a few positions. One of them in a large/known company that engaged with me and then rejected me without interviewing me. That posting is still up on LinkedIn and it's hard to believe they couldn't find someone to fill it for like 7 months. So one can only conclude it's not genuine.
There's also a strategy, having an open position might attract some people you'll be happy to put in your database, and duplicate where X companies (contractor?head hunter company? consulting? Idk how to name it) post a job that is for only one client in reality.
it seems like it's super common and my own company seems to do this. why?
I was applying a few months ago and most seem to not be real postings. Many of them I’d get a generic rejection months after the fact.
With how many never respond to me, as well as how much phone call and email spam increases whenever I apply to jobs, I assume a lot of it is fake.