Where can I check if a company is actually hiring?
You can check if a company is actually hiring in about five minutes, using free sources: the government business register (ABN Lookup or ASIC in Australia, your state’s business entity search in the US), the company’s own careers page, the date on the job ad, the person who posted it, and one direct question to the recruiter. That matters, because hiring platform Greenhouse found that between 18% and 22% of job postings in a recent quarter were “ghost jobs”, ads with no intention of actively hiring. She Sells helps women in Australia and the US get placed in remote sales roles, and this is the check we would want you to run on any ad, including ones that come through us.
Where can I check if a company is actually hiring?
No single website tells you “this job is real and open”. You need two answers: does the company exist, and is this particular role open right now? Different places answer each one. This table lists them for both markets.
| What you are checking | Australia | United States | What a good result looks like |
|---|---|---|---|
| The business exists | ABN Lookup (free): ABN status, entity type, GST, business names | Your state’s Secretary of State business entity search | Active registration, a name that matches the ad, and a history going back more than a few weeks |
| The company is a real registered company | ASIC organisation search (basic details free): name, type, ACN, registration date, registered office suburb | Same state search; publicly listed companies also file with the SEC | The registration date and location make sense for the story the ad tells |
| This role is open | The company’s own careers page | The company’s own careers page | The same job title is listed there, not only on a job board or social post |
| The ad is fresh | SEEK, LinkedIn or Indeed posting date | LinkedIn, Indeed posting date | Posted in the last 30 days and not reposted again and again for months |
| A real person is behind it | LinkedIn profile of the poster | LinkedIn profile of the poster | A named person who works there, ideally with a verification badge or a company email |
The first two rows prove the business exists. Only the last three tell you whether the job does. A real company can still run a ghost ad.
What “actually hiring” means (and what it does not)
A company is actually hiring when a specific role is open, someone has signed off on paying for it, and a named person intends to make a hire within the next few weeks. Anything short of that is something else, even if the ad looks the same.
- A ghost job is an ad with no live intention to fill it. Companies leave them up to look like they are growing, to collect résumés (CVs), or because nobody took them down.
- An evergreen or talent-pool ad is honest but slow. The company is always collecting applicants and hires when a gap opens. It is not fake, but you may not hear back for months.
- A scam is not a job at all. The aim is your money or your identity. The FTC’s advice on job scams is blunt: “Don’t pay for the promise of a job.”
- A recruiting pitch dressed as a job is common in remote sales. “We’re hiring closers!” sometimes means “buy our course” or “recruit others”. If the money comes from people you sign up rather than customers you sell to, it is not a sales job.
The 5-signal hiring check
This is the method we teach for any remote sales ad, whether it is a closer role, an appointment setter role or a DM setter role. Give one point for each signal you can confirm.
- Registered: the business shows as active on ABN Lookup or ASIC (AU) or your state register (US), under a name that matches the ad.
- On their own site: the same role appears on the company’s careers page, or the founder or sales manager has posted it publicly under their own name.
- Fresh: the ad is under 30 days old and has not been reposted with the same wording every few weeks.
- A real person: you can find the hiring manager or recruiter, and their profile shows they work there. LinkedIn’s verification badge on job posts means the company page is verified and the poster has verified their link to the company. LinkedIn also says a missing badge does not necessarily mean the ad is fraudulent, because the feature is still being piloted.
- A straight answer: you ask, “Is this role open now, and when do you want someone started?” and get a date, not a dodge.
The threshold table: what your score tells you
| Score | What it usually means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| 5 out of 5 | Open, real and staffed | Apply properly: tailored message, prepared for a role play |
| 3 or 4 | Probably real, maybe slow or evergreen | Apply, but ask the timing question early and keep searching |
| 0 to 2 | Ghost ad, talent pool or not a real business | Skip it, or send a short application and spend your time elsewhere |
| Any red flag | Pay to start, a cheque to deposit and forward, recruit-to-earn, income promises | Stop, whatever the score. Report it to Scamwatch (AU) or the FTC (US) |
The quotable rule: a job ad you cannot match to a registered business, a live careers page and a named person is not a job you are applying for, it is a form you are filling in.
Tired of applying into the void? Talk to the She Sells team about getting trained and placed in a remote sales role.
A worked example: what ghost jobs cost your week
Here is the maths, so you can put in your own numbers. These inputs are illustrative, not a survey.
- You send 20 tailored applications in a month.
- Each one takes 45 minutes (research, message, résumé tweaks). That is 900 minutes, or 15 hours.
- If about 1 in 5 ads is a ghost job (Greenhouse’s 18% to 22% range), roughly 4 of your 20 go nowhere. That is about 3 hours of your month.
- Running the 5-signal hiring check takes about 5 minutes per ad, so 100 minutes for all 20.
The check costs about 1 hour 40 minutes and saves about 3 hours, plus the morale hit of waiting on replies that were never coming. If you are job hunting in school hours or after bedtime, those hours are the scarce thing.
A wider reality check from US government data: in August 2026 there were 7.1 million job openings and 5.2 million hires (BLS JOLTS). Openings are counted on one day and hires across the month, so the gap is not a count of fake jobs. It is a reminder that an open ad and a hire are two different things.
How to check a remote sales job specifically
Remote closing and setting roles are often posted on Instagram, Facebook groups, Skool communities or a founder’s LinkedIn feed rather than on SEEK or Indeed. That makes the careers-page signal harder, so lean on the others.
Questions that separate a real role from a pitch
- What is the offer and who buys it? A real closer role has a product, a price range and buyers. If they cannot tell you what you will sell, there is nothing to sell.
- Where do the leads come from? Real roles have inbound calls booked by setters or ads. “Find your own leads” for a commission-only closer role is a warning sign.
- How and when is commission paid? Many remote sales roles are commission-heavy or commission-only. That can be legitimate, but you need the percentage, the payment timing and any clawback rules in writing.
- Who is the legal entity? Ask for the business name and ABN (AU) or the registered company name (US), then look it up. A real business will tell you straight away.
We go deeper on this in remote closer job offer red flags, and on where real roles get posted in how to find remote closing jobs. If you are choosing where to search, which job boards have the strongest scam protection compares SEEK, LinkedIn, Indeed and FlexJobs.
Australia and the US: what changes
The method is the same in both countries, but the details differ.
- Australia: any business with an ABN shows up on ABN Lookup, including sole traders, so an active ABN proves less than a company registration. ASIC’s free organisation search shows when a company was registered and roughly where. A business that says it has “been around for years” but registered last month deserves a follow-up question. An unpaid “trial week” is worth questioning before you agree to it, so ask what the trial involves and whether it is paid.
- United States: there is no single national business register. Search the Secretary of State site for the state the company says it is in. Many remote sales roles are 1099 contractor roles, which means no employer tax withholding. We explain what that means in remote closer taxes for 1099 contractors.
When a recruiter or placement service is involved
Agency ads are a special case. A recruiter may post a role without naming the client, so you cannot run the careers-page check yourself. Ask the recruiter to confirm the role is open and to name the business once you are shortlisted. A legitimate recruiter does not charge you, the job seeker, to apply. The FTC says that if a placement firm asks you for a fee, especially upfront, you should walk away.
This is how She Sells works too, and it is fair to hold us to the same standard. The businesses come to She Sells’ recruitment service to hire trained closers and setters, and She Sells reports 150+ businesses currently working with She Sells globally. Women in the She Soars career program complete the She Sells Cert III in Remote Sales certificate, and once you’re certified, our recruitment team works with you to land a role within 90 days, or your money back. The foundation program, She Launches, covers skills and does not include direct placement. You can compare both on our programs page. Even with a placement service, results take time and commission-based pay varies.
Want to see if remote sales could work for you? Book a free call with the She Sells team.
Results vary. Nothing here is a promise of income. See our earnings disclaimer.
Frequently asked questions
How can I tell if a job posting is a ghost job?
Look for an ad that has been up for more than 30 days or reposted with the same wording, a role that does not appear on the company’s own careers page, and no named hiring manager. Greenhouse found that between 18% and 22% of job postings in a recent quarter fit the ghost job description (reported by FOX 5 Atlanta). One of these signs alone is not proof, but three together usually is.
Is it OK to ask a recruiter if a job is still open?
Yes, and good recruiters respect it. Ask whether the role is open now, whether it is budgeted and when they want someone started. A real role comes with a timeframe, and a vague answer tells you to keep looking.
Does an active ABN mean an Australian company is legit?
It means the business is registered, nothing more. Sole traders, brand-new businesses and some scammers can all hold an active ABN. Use ABN Lookup as the first check, then match the role to a careers page and a named person.
Are commission-only remote sales jobs real jobs?
Some are, and many remote closing roles are commission-heavy or commission-only. The test is whether you sell a real product to real customers, with leads supplied and the commission terms in writing. If the income depends on recruiting people or paying to start, it is not a sales job.
Where do I report a fake job ad?
In Australia, report it to Scamwatch and to the job board that hosted it. In the US, report it to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov and to the platform. Reporting helps the board remove it before someone else applies.
