The Impossible Job Ad: Are Some Roles Written for Ghost Candidates?
- Ruth Ssanyulye
- 2 days ago
- 3 min read
Why unrealistic requirements keep showing up, and what they mean for the rest of us
You’ve seen the advert. We’ve all seen it.
A role asking for a 32-year-old engineer with 10 years’ experience, an MSc, and exposure to everything from industrial parks to complex infrastructure design. And you sit there wondering how this timeline is even humanly possible...
Unless someone:
finished their BSc at 18,
wrapped up their MSc by 21, with a couple of years of industry experience in between,
and then accumulated a decade of “solid industry experience” by 31…
This my friends…it simply does not add up!
Yet these adverts keep appearing boldly as though the maths checks out.
Which raises the question this article tackles head-on: Are these roles even meant for real jobseekers, or are they quietly written for ghost candidates?
1. The Unspoken Truth: Who Is This Ad Actually Targeting?
Let’s be candid.
Some adverts are technically published “for transparency,” but practically speaking, they’re sculpted around:
an internal protégé already pre-selected,
a consultant already known to the organization,
or a niche foreign candidate from a system where people graduate absurdly early.
The average Ugandan (and African) professional simply doesn’t fit those timelines:
University delays
Financial constraints stretching study years
Slower progression due to limited opportunities and late starts
Early work experiences that don’t convert neatly into “10 years in a straight line”
But the advert pretends this context doesn’t exist. Let's be honest, at 18years old, a typical privileged Ugandan is just finishing high school (UACE)!
2. The Hidden Impact on Jobseekers
And let's face it, this type of advert is not only impractical but discouraging too.
People end up thinking:
“Maybe I’m behind.”
“Maybe I should have had an MSc by 23.”
“Maybe my experience isn’t valid.”
But the truth is simple and liberating:
You are not the problem. The advert is.
3. Why Employers Do This (The Real Reasons)
There are three main reasons behind these “ghost candidate” adverts:
(i) They Already Have Someone in Mind
The law demands public advertising, so the job description is shaped so precisely that it fits one person like a glove.
(ii) They Aim for a Fantasy Unicorn
The organization wants someone “perfect” and by listing everything under the sun, they hope that mythical candidate appears.
(iii) Laziness: Copy-Paste Job Descriptions
Someone grabs a 2021 job description, slaps it onto the 2025 vacancy, and calls it a day without updating, reflecting or tailoring to current context.
4. What We Risk Losing: Actual Talent
Uganda has a large pool of smart, hungry, fast-learning professionals who:
adapt quickly,
deliver results even under tough conditions,
and build competence in non-linear, real-life career paths.
But they’re filtered out by adverts asking for unrealistic timelines that don’t align with our lived reality.
It’s silent exclusion that's not based on merit, but on imagination.
5. What a Realistic Job Advert Should Look Like
Good employers should write job adverts that:
reflect real industry timelines,
distinguish must-have from nice-to-have,
acknowledge diverse paths to competence,
and invite younger professionals into the pipeline.
If organizations genuinely want African talent, they must write job descriptions for real people, not ghost candidates with supernatural CVs.
6. What Jobseekers Should Do When Faced With the Impossible
Simple: Apply anyway.
If you meet 60–70% of the core criteria, you are a viable candidate. Many employers eventually realize their unicorn doesn’t exist so the job goes to the grounded, skilled professional who dared to show up.
That could easily be you.
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