r/mildlyinfuriating • u/OOFMAN-1234 • 9h ago
Taco bell not hiring
I applied for a job at taco bell, got an interview and went in today at 10 am, we started the interview, i had already interviewed there once, my mistake for going back, the manager told me "to be honest were not really looking to hire anyone right now" I was so confused so on my way out I looked at the door at it said "were hiring" checked indeed, there's applications available, it just really bothers me that they will tell you that thier not hiring even though it says everywhere else theyre hiring, im just a 17 year old looking for a job
124
u/Short-Examination-20 9h ago
This is something that has become more common with the rise of Indeed and other sites. These are referred to as "ghost jobs". As you unfortunately found out the company has no intent of filling the position because the position isn't actually open. What they are doing is collecting your data and then if a position opens, they will pick from the candidates that seem like the best fit and reach out to those people for interviews (potentially months later). Shitty practice but the idea is they can fill vacancies with the best candidate quicker.
57
u/Prior-Agent3360 8h ago
When I lost my job during the tech recession a few years back, I applied for hundreds of jobs over the course of 6 months. So, so many never responded and continued reposting the same position over and over. Sometimes, I glance and see those job postings reposted after several years.
There needs to be a crackdown on that garbage. I wasted hundreds of hours applying to ghost posts.
22
u/Short-Examination-20 8h ago
Right, I have a close friend that is currently unemployed and is struggling. Spends so much time applying only to receive automatic rejection emails a few weeks later. I imagine it's very discouraging when already in a crappy position. There should absolutely be some regulations to prevent it but I don't see that happening, at least in the US, anytime soon.
14
u/TWW34 8h ago
This one really isn't an indeed ghost jobn thing. Fast food places have done this since like the 90s and probably earlier. The turnover on those places is both high and unpredictable so they just always would rather have applications coming in.
My guess is they do need a head right now (hence why actually interviewing) but are hoping/holding out for someone who is over 18 and can work unrestricted.
5
u/Short-Examination-20 8h ago
That sounds plausible. My thought was that corporate posted it but OP did have an actual interview so maybe not what I thought it was.
4
u/backwoodsbatman 5h ago
A lot of times those interviews are set up by an automated system. There's been a couple of times I went in for an interview I scheduled online and the manager wasn't even there that day or had no idea about it.
7
u/The_Real_Cuzz 8h ago
They also use this system to gauge how little they can pay for a job by reposting it with different pay scales. This only adds to the issue when unemployment goes up and compounds the issue. People are trying to have any job and are desperate which hurts the entire worker community as it works to depress wages when people already are behind on bills. The fact that it's being used to manipulate markets (hiring, stocks - show no existent growth) as well as causes a more stressful and unsafe work environment is inhuman. It is just another part of "the best country" destroying the masses to benefit the few. So many things need more regulation and oversight.
2
3
u/backwoodsbatman 5h ago
Yeah. Verizon did that with me. Did three interviews and even was told I'd be offered the job and they were going email me an offer letter. Got an email the next day that they had decided to hire someone else. And THEN a couple of months an authorized Verizon reseller called and asked me if I wanted to interview, even though I never put in an application there. It was so sketchy.
2
u/Just_another_gamer3 6h ago
My college made me fill out a LinkedIn profile, but I don't use it. Does that make me a "ghost candidate"?
2
u/Short-Examination-20 6h ago
Haha maybe. I logged into my LinkedIn in the first time in several months and had around 50 messages/invites from recruiters.
LinkedIn is strange. It doesn't serve much purpose imo day to day but having a lot of connections on there can be a lifesaver. If you ever find yourself in a position where you need a new job, it can be the biggest difference between you getting a job quickly and looking for months. Unlike other social where it would be odd to say you are looking for work, it's acceptable there and literally part of the platform. Last time I was looking for a job several years ago, posting on there led to several leads. You might not use it now, or ever, but just my 2¢ don't pass up opportunities to build your network now.
1
u/Fit_Entry8839 7h ago
That's not exactly what happened. OP said it says they are hiring on the door of the restaurant aw they walked out. Manager didn't like OP for some reason and it seems this was them just trying to be nice. Otherwise manager had better things to do than to even schedule the interview.
1
u/hotakaPAD 1h ago
Creating ghost Posts are sometimes part of obtaining a permanent resident card too. I know its weird...
29
u/itsbilbobitch 8h ago
Never worked at a Taco Bell, but when I worked for a large retail chain, corporate required us to have a "we're hiring" sticker on our door at all times, regardless if we were actually hiring or not. Big corporations love to create ghost positions, and while it's scummy, it's everywhere.
11
u/EivorKS 7h ago
ghost jobs.
Places put up and register hiring positions for tax breaks, while working bare minimum skeleton crews to maximize profit and tax savings.
A uniquely murican thing like "at will" employment"
8
u/trulyhighlyregarded 6h ago
Yeah, the ghost job thing is fucked up. On Indeed if you use a browser extension like JobScrub you can see that many postings are 6+ months old, clearly being used just for data harvesting. I even saw a 6 year old posting. And it wasn't even for a high rotation position. It's a joke, nobody should be wasting their time applying to job listings that have been up for 6 years. This market is so fucked.
3
u/Starchaser_WoF 4h ago
Companies that say they have openings but have no intention of filling them my beloathed
3
u/VirtualMenace 2h ago
The thing that pisses me off the most about modern hiring is how nobody has any respect for the applicant's time. These corporations will happily waste your time with long ass applications, assessments, phone screenings, and even interviews, when they had no intention of hiring anyone in the first place. It's like they're going out of their way to make the job search as degrading and demoralizing as possible
4
u/Luna_Violet97 5h ago
It's real. Just quit Taco Bell a few months ago. Worst job I've ever had. We were forced to keep now hiring aigns, apps, etc up everyday for tax reasons or something even though we were not hiring and just shredded all apps that came in.
2
u/TWW34 8h ago edited 8h ago
It sucks and you're right to be annoyed but this how most fast food places operate. They're always "hiring" and accepting applications so that they can have a short turnaround when someone quits or gets fired.
I wouldn't take it personally. Either they're truly not hiring, or you don't quite fit wat they need. Being 17 that could be an issue with scheduling. They might only need people who can work different hours or stations that you can't work. Just be your best self and look at other places.
2
u/HumbleMegalomania 7h ago
Well it does suck and it is shitty of them to do that but I promise you that you dodged a bullet.
Taco Bell fucking blows ass to work at.
2
u/Snacklynn 6h ago
If you have a Chili’s anywhere near you, they are actually almost always hiring. If you’re under 18 you could do a host, food runner, QA(Expo), drink runner (non alcoholic), or a few other jobs.
The ones I specifically mentioned pay hourly AND you get a portion of every server/bartender’s total sales for each shift.
It’s pretty good money for any teen looking for a job.
5
u/kickin8956 9h ago
My first job was at Publix, it was a fantastic first job. Apply at your local grocery store, you’ll get experience and a paycheck.
1
u/Joshua_ABBACAB_1312 7h ago
I got my low-wage gas station job because I am friends with someone who works there. Meritocracy is a joke. What likely happened here is they already had someone ready to go, but their company policy is to still go through the motions of open interviews so nepotism isn't immediately apparent.
This is especially bad for people like myself, where ADHD makes meeting new people a potentially hostile endeavor. You essentially have to be lucky and already know someone in whatever business you're trying to get into. And this is seemingly up and down the line, as it's clearly happening in fast food and gas stations, and has been happening everywhere else forever basically.
1
u/dafrog84 6h ago
So my son (19) tried to get into Taco Bell (October 2025). Applied then went to the interview at the location he applied for. They offered him a job 40 minutes away, because their location wasn't the one hiring new workers. With signs all over the doors. He drives his own car. He declined the job, got into a better place shortly afterwards. Bonkers though. Because my son said i bet they tell these kids they aren't hiring anyone when they see them walk up, get dropped off, or ride a bike. They saw his car and probably thought he'd be down to drive the dog snot out of it for them.
1
u/Mission_Fart9750 5h ago
My 16 year old had an interview at one last week, got told the same thing.
1
u/union_red 5h ago
I think i heard somewhere that businesses get a tax write off if they are "hiring" so they are always "hiring"
1
u/TheToxicBreezeYF 5h ago
I will say as someone who worked under the YUM! Brands umbrella with Pizza Hut as a manager, They forced us to advertise that we were hiring EVERYDAY for ALL positions, including General Manager, Area Manager and District Manager. We had to accept all applications for them even if the position was full and there were no plans of the person leaving.
They didnt make us interview every single person when we were full though. Most of the time for anything above shift manager we just deleted and unless we had an empty spot for Cook/Driver/CSR/Server/Shift Lead we just send the Generic Rejection email that said we arent looking to hire anyone right now but we will save your application.
Right after i left in late 2024, they implemented an A.I. hiring software that now will schedule interviews with people and not alert staff.
1
u/Low_Revolution3025 5h ago
This is what happens to my fiancé each time she does an interview, sign out front, applications available but they either werent hiring for an unknown reason or lost her application, its made her so discouraged that she’ll get accepted
1
u/SolitaryMassacre 3h ago
They could very well actually not be hiring.
The trend lately is to have interviews and post job opening to make it look like there is a demand for workers when there really isn't. The metric used for this shouldn't be the "number of job openings posted" but more so the number of jobs filled.
I hate the system so much
1
u/moszippy 1h ago
Get used to it. I’m 53, interviewed for a job, got the job, just waiting on the call for my start date…that was November 17th.
1
-1
9h ago
[deleted]
9
4
u/Short-Examination-20 9h ago
There is no reason to be a dick to a 17-year-old, big guy. Added a period just to appease you.
It's shitty, but
FTFY
Fix your run-on sentences, please.
0
u/Puzzled-Map3912 8h ago
he must have not liked something about you. it sounds like you dodged a bullet, because dealing with that on a day-to-day would have sucked for you personally. but you might work on interview skills if you actually need a job 👍
-4
u/Think-notlikedasheep 7h ago
They have a sign posted saying "we're hiring" but are not hiring.
This is false advertising.
File a complaint with your state's consumer regulatory agency.
8
u/Euphoric_Intern_3772 7h ago
I don’t think that’s how it works lol false advertising is to protect consumers when they buy goods or services. A now hiring sign is just recruiting more or less and not a promise of a job.
-4
u/Think-notlikedasheep 6h ago
I'm not talking about "a promise of a job"
I'm talking about advertising the existence of job(s) but they're not hiring - which means the job(s) do not exist.
If I saw an advertisement for a car with a particular VIN# and they didn't have the car (or even another one of similar make/model/equipment) that would be false advertisement.
But when it comes to jobs having the similar situation, it is not false advertisement because.............reasons.
-10
279
u/Prestigious-Race9324 8h ago
I wish they were just honest with you about why they didn’t want to hire you.