As companies scramble to cut costs through layoffs and furloughs, many freshly unemployed workers in tech and media are flocking to online job listings with a new sense of urgency. That is leading to a frustrating realization: Many employers aren’t actually hiring for the open positions they’re advertising. 

David Valento, a copywriter who was laid off from advertising firm Ogilvy in March, responded to a job listing at another agency and was told to check back with the firm in two weeks. When he did, the ad agency advised him to check back in the summer. Valento said he had also seen the same job postings listed repeatedly on multiple websites. “Whoever is running the job board is not keeping up,” he said. “I know these jobs aren’t available. They’ve been up for four or five weeks.”