Ghost job
A ghost job is a posting that stays listed with no real intent to fill it soon, whether the role is already filled, frozen, or kept open to collect resumes. In Four-Leaf's measurement of 149,008 live postings on 2026-09-19, 29.9% carried at least one structural signal worth checking before you apply.
The two signals are a posting live for more than 60 days and the same role listed 5 or more times at the same company. A signal is a reason to verify, never proof that a listing is fake. Plenty of long-open roles are real jobs that are hard to fill.
Applicant tracking system (ATS)
An applicant tracking system is the software employers use to collect applications and move candidates through hiring stages. Workday, Greenhouse, iCIMS, and Lever are common examples. Many systems parse and rank applicants so a recruiter can review the closest matches first. They rarely reject a resume for formatting alone, though knockout questions can screen candidates out automatically.
In Enhancv's interviews with 25 US recruiters, published in November 2025, 23 said their systems don't auto-reject resumes for formatting, content, or design. Enhancv sells resume tools, so read it as one vendor's sample. The filter that usually fires on its own is the knockout question.
Knockout question
A knockout question is a yes-or-no screening question on a job application that can end a candidate's application automatically. Typical examples ask about work authorization, a required license, willingness to relocate, or a minimum years-of-experience threshold. Answering one the wrong way can mean a rejection before any person reads the resume.
In the same Enhancv interviews, every recruiter whose system had knockout questions used them. An employer can send a failed answer to a person for review or straight to rejection, and you can't see which setting it chose. Answer honestly, and read each question twice.
Evergreen requisition
An evergreen requisition is a job posting an employer keeps open continuously to collect candidates for a role it hires again and again, instead of one opening with a fixed close date. The posting may stay up for months while the company hires from it in batches, so the wait for a reply is harder to predict.
An evergreen posting can trip a ghost-job signal without being a ghost job. In Four-Leaf's 2026-09-19 snapshot, 1,360 company and title pairs were listed 5 or more times at once, a pattern that evergreen hiring, multi-location roles, and stale listings can all produce. Check the company's careers page before you decide.
Voice mock interview
A voice mock interview is a practice interview you answer out loud. An interviewer, often software, asks questions and follow-ups, and your answers are scored on what you said and how you said it. Speaking exposes pacing, filler words, and rambling that typed practice hides, the gap between knowing an answer and delivering it under pressure.
Four-Leaf's mock interviews work this way, with questions drawn from the role and company you're preparing for, and feedback on both the content and the delivery of each answer.