You’re scrolling through LinkedIn at 2:00 AM. You see it. The perfect role. The salary is right, the tech stack is exactly what you’ve been working with for years, and the company culture doesn't look like a total dumpster fire. But then you see that little gray text: "Posted 30+ days ago." Your heart sinks. You wonder if you’re shouting into a void or if there’s actually a human on the other end checking applications. Honestly, figuring out how to know when a job was posted is becoming a survival skill in a market flooded with "ghost jobs" and automated reposts.
It’s frustrating.
Most people think the date they see on a job board is the day the recruiter sat down and typed out the description. That’s rarely the case. Between automated scrapers, programmatic advertising, and HR departments that forget to hit "delete," the timestamp you see is often a lie. You’ve got to look under the hood.
Why the Date on LinkedIn or Indeed Is Usually Wrong
LinkedIn is notorious for this. You might see a job that says "2 hours ago," but if you look closer, it has 400 applicants. Unless it’s a remote role at Netflix or Google, that math doesn't always add up. What’s happening? It's usually a "repost." Companies pay for premium slots that automatically refresh every few days to keep the listing at the top of the search results. They want fresh eyes. They don't necessarily have a fresh opening.
Indeed works similarly. Their "sponsored" posts can hang around for a month, appearing as if they were just listed this morning. If you want to get serious about how to know when a job was posted, you have to stop trusting the aggregate sites and go straight to the source. The company’s own career page is the gold standard. Most Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) like Greenhouse, Lever, or Workday generate a specific URL or a "job ID" that contains a chronological clue.
Look at the URL itself. Sometimes you’ll see a string of numbers like 2025-10-14-001. That’s your smoking gun. That's the actual date the requisition was opened in their internal system. If the URL says October but the LinkedIn post says "yesterday," you know they’ve been struggling to fill that seat for months. That changes your strategy. It means they might be getting desperate, or it means they’re incredibly picky and you need to bring your A-game.
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Decoding the Source Code and Metadata
If you’re feeling a bit like a hacker, you can actually check the metadata of a webpage. It’s not as hard as it sounds. Right-click on the job description page and select "View Page Source." Use Ctrl+F (or Cmd+F) and search for terms like "datePosted," "published," or "created_at."
Most modern websites use something called Schema.org markup. This is a standardized format that tells Google’s bots exactly what the page is about. Because companies want Google for Jobs to index their listings, they include a "datePosted" field in the code. This field is much harder to "fake" than the text displayed on the front end because if it doesn't match the actual page creation, Google might penalize their search ranking.
Checking the Wayback Machine
Sometimes a job feels "old" even if the date is fresh. If you suspect a company is just recycling an old role to build a talent pipeline—basically collecting resumes for a rainy day—toss the URL into the Wayback Machine (Internet Archive). If you see that exact same job description existed in 2024 or mid-2025 with the same ID, they aren't hiring "now." They are hiring "eventually."
This is a massive waste of your time. Don't be the person who spends three hours tailoring a cover letter for a job that was technically "filled" three weeks ago but the HR manager is on vacation and hasn't closed the ticket.
The Secret Language of Recruiters
Recruiters have their own rhythm. Most new jobs are posted early in the week. Tuesday morning is the "Golden Hour" for job seekers. Why? Because Monday is for catching up on emails and internal meetings. By Tuesday, the team has decided they definitely need to hire someone, and the recruiter pushes the button.
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If you see a post on a Friday afternoon, it’s often a "dump." They want it to sit there over the weekend so they have a pile of resumes to look at on Monday. If you're wondering how to know when a job was posted during these windows, look at the engagement. Check the hiring manager's LinkedIn "Activity" section. Did they share the post? If they shared it five days ago but the job board says "1 day ago," the job board is lagging.
Industry Specific Realities
- Tech: Roles move fast. If it's been up for more than 14 days, the "first wave" of interviews is already happening.
- Government/Higher Ed: These stay open for 30–60 days by law or policy. A "30-day old" job here is still "fresh."
- Retail/Hospitality: These are often "evergreen" postings. They are always hiring because turnover is high. The date literally doesn't matter.
Why Google for Jobs Is Your Best Friend
Google for Jobs is an aggregator that actually tries to clean up the mess left by Indeed and LinkedIn. When you search for a job title on Google, it pulls from dozens of sources. It often displays multiple "posted" dates. If you see "Posted 3 days ago on Monster" and "Posted 21 days ago on Glassdoor," you have your answer. The 21-day mark is the reality.
I’ve seen instances where a job is "refreshed" on a Friday, but Google shows the original timestamp from two weeks prior. This is the most honest look you’ll get at the market.
How to Handle an "Old" Job Posting
Should you even apply if a job is more than two weeks old?
Maybe.
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But you change your tactics. If a job is "fresh" (under 48 hours), you apply through the portal immediately. Speed is your friend. If the job is "old" (over 14 days), the portal is likely a black hole. At that point, you need a referral. You find someone at the company on LinkedIn and ask, "Hey, I saw this role was posted a few weeks ago, is the team still actively interviewing?"
Nine times out of ten, they’ll tell you the truth. "Oh, we’re actually in final rounds," or "Yeah, we haven't found anyone good yet, definitely apply!" This saves you hours of soul-crushing effort.
Actionable Steps to Track Job Freshness
Stop guessing and start auditing. Here is how you actually verify a timeline:
- Check the Company Career Site First: If the job isn't there, it’s dead. Third-party boards are slow to delete.
- Inspect the URL for Date Strings: Look for YYYY/MM/DD patterns or sequential ID numbers that suggest age.
- Search the Job Title in Quotes on Google: See when the earliest version of that exact text appeared online.
- Use Chrome Extensions: Tools like "Simple Fill" or "PageProp" can sometimes reveal the last-modified date of a webpage that isn't visible to the naked eye.
- Look for the "Ghost" Signs: If a job has been "reposted" three times in a row, the company might have an internal issue, or the role doesn't actually exist (it’s just a "market pulse" check).
The goal isn't just to find a job; it's to find a job that is actually open. Focus your energy on the "true" new listings—those posted within the last 72 hours—and use the older ones only if you have a direct line to a human inside the building. Sorting through the noise is the only way to keep your sanity in a digital search.