Confidential Job Postings?
 

I came across a job listing on Monster.com that sounds identical to my former supervisor's duties. (If you recall, I resigned not too long ago.)

However, the name of the hiring organization says "Confidential."

If I were a betting man, I'd think that they are listing his job confidentially because they plan on firing him, but because it is an important, senior level job, they don't want to fire him without a replacement.

Do you think this is the case? Prior to the other day, I had never seen a job announcement that listed the hiring org as "confidential."

I've seen that a lot (not sure about on monster.com)
Sometimes it's for the reason you listed, and sometimes it's because the organization doesn't want to be inundated with phone calls or people walking in. They want you to send a resume and they'll call you.

90% of the time, when I place job ads for my company, I don't include the company name. It's just not done in my area. You can find out when you call which company it is.

I find that at least half the jobs on Monster are a little on the iffy side, especially in the arts/communications industries.

I have discovered most of those jobs are with headhunter services, and some of them don't even exist, they are there to get people to apply to it, they'll tell you the job is filled, but they have others that they can get for you...for a fee.

I figured that out when I was looking for my first job out of college.

Huge scam. All of the major, well-known companies, Pharmaceuticals, IBM, major banks, hospitals, list their company name.

You are also sending your employment history to a post and if it's listed as company confidential, you don't know who opened that account either.

I can answer this with 100% confidence bc I was the project manager (at Monster) on development of this particular feature.
This feature was a huge request by employers.

The main reason that many companies choose to post their jobs "confidentially" is because they do not want an inundation of resumes via mail, fax, etc. Many of these companies prefer to receive resumes via the Monster system (employers pay $$$$ to have customized resume search/receipt software).

The majority of law firm jobs in my area (whether it be paralegal, secretary or attorney) are blind listings. That really can be frustrating, because its so hard to write a cover letter or tailor your resume when you don't know who you are applying to. As REE1993 said, I believe that they just don't want to deal with the onslaught of phone calls, emails, etc. Can't say that I blame them, but it really makes it more difficult!

If I remember correctly, there should only be an APPLY ONLINE link, not an email address, unless the person posting the job added one in him/herself.

The idea that the person in the position currently is being fired is actually more common than you might think. Imagine how risky it might be if your job was to hire someone for a job that a person was going to be fired from; there are so many freaks out there, you have to be careful.

Either way, good luck, and just write a generic cover letter that highlights your skills and what you can bring any organization. The person who reveives the resumes know that without identifying themselves, the applicant may not be able to "show" them how he/she would fit into their particular organization.

No kidding. Half of them seem to be from the Army or Navy.

Or Primerica (ick!)

Um, I think you are backwards. Any reputable headhunter is paid by the hiring company, not the job-seeker.

The rest of your post is correct; they will want your resume and maybe to meet you in person without actually having a job, so they can then take your info and try to sell it to a company.

Oh my god, yes! I was fooled by them, I didn't realize who they were until I went to the interview. Needless to say, I didn't take that job.

Those are the situations where I've heard of it happening as well. They don't want someone to know they're being replaced, so they hide the postings.

not sure if you are still in the hunt, but check out http://www.nea.org/jobs/vaclist.html. if you decide to apply, let me know.

About half the time, monster.com's "company confidential" is revealed in the job announcement, in the e-mail address, or in a link. Sometimes they manage to get all the references out, but not always.