You’re scrolling. You see the perfect title, the right salary, and a commute that doesn't make you want to scream. But then you notice it: "Posted 30+ days ago." Your heart sinks. Or maybe it says "Posted today," yet something feels off, like you’ve seen this exact listing every Tuesday for the last three months. Knowing how to see when a job was posted on Indeed is basically a survival skill in the modern job market because, honestly, the date on the screen is often a liar.
Platforms like Indeed want to keep their content fresh. Companies want a constant stream of resumes. This creates a weird tug-of-war where "new" doesn't always mean "just opened." If you’re tired of wasting hours applying to ghost jobs or positions that were actually filled during the Obama administration, you need to look past the surface-level timestamps.
The truth about the "Posted" date on Indeed
Most people just glance at the bottom of the job card. It’s right there—a little grey snippet of text. "Just posted," "1 day ago," or the dreaded "30+ days ago." But here’s the kicker: Indeed’s algorithm often treats a "reposted" job as a brand-new listing.
When a recruiter hits a button to renew their subscription or refresh their budget, that clock resets. You might think you're getting in on the ground floor, but you’re actually at the back of a line that’s been forming for weeks. It’s frustrating. It’s also why you’ll see the same project manager role at a local tech firm appearing at the top of your search results every Monday morning like clockwork.
The "30+ days ago" tag is the only one that's usually honest. It means the role is either incredibly hard to fill, the HR department is disorganized, or—and this is common—they forgot to take the listing down. If you see that tag, proceed with caution. The odds of getting an interview for a month-old post are statistically lower than for something posted in the last 48 hours.
How to find the real age of a job listing
If you’re suspicious that a "2 days ago" tag is a lie, you have to do some detective work. One of the most effective ways to see when a job was posted on Indeed with more accuracy is to check the Company Page directly on Indeed.
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Click the company name. Go to the "Jobs" tab on their profile. Often, the sorting there is different than the main search feed. You might see the job listed alongside others that give away the timeline. If the "new" job is sandwiched between two roles posted in November, and it’s now January, you’ve got your answer.
Another trick? Use Google's search operators. Copy the exact job title and the company name, then paste it into Google with the site:indeed.com tag. Once the results pop up, click "Tools" and change "Any time" to "Past hour" or "Past 24 hours." If the job has been living on the site for months, Google’s index history might show you an older version of the page that Indeed’s internal search is trying to hide.
Why recruiters refresh postings (and why it hurts you)
Recruiters aren't necessarily trying to be evil. They’re just desperate for "fresh" talent. In the recruiting world, there's a belief that the best candidates apply within the first few days of a post going live. After a week, the "quality" of applicants supposedly drops.
To combat this, some HR software (ATS) is set to automatically "refresh" the job on Indeed every few weeks. This pulls the job back to the first page of search results. For you, the seeker, this is a trap. You spend forty minutes tailoring a cover letter for a job that already has 400 applicants and three people in the final interview stage.
The URL trick: Checking the metadata
This is a bit nerdy, but it works. Sometimes, the URL of the job listing itself contains hints. While Indeed has cleaned up their URL structures over the years, looking at the "jk" parameter (the unique job key) can sometimes tell you if a post is related to an older batch.
More importantly, look at the Original Posting link if it's available. Indeed is an aggregator. Many jobs aren't posted "on" Indeed; they are scraped from the company’s own career site. Look for a link that says "Apply on company site."
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Once you get to the actual company website, look for a date there. Corporate career portals (like Workday, Taleo, or Greenhouse) are much more likely to show the true "Date Opened" than a third-party aggregator. If Indeed says "1 day ago" but the Greenhouse link says "Opened: October 12," trust the Greenhouse link. Always.
What "30+ Days Ago" actually means for your chances
Don't immediately delete a "30+ days ago" listing from your mind. There are nuances.
- The Evergreen Role: Large companies (think Amazon or local hospitals) are always hiring for certain roles, like warehouse associates or nurses. These posts stay up forever because they need a constant pipeline.
- The Failed Search: Maybe they found someone, it didn't work out, and they reopened the search.
- The Ghost Job: A 2024 survey by Revelio Labs found that a significant percentage of job postings stay online even after a hire is made, simply because the company wants to maintain a "talent pool" or keep their brand visible.
If you really want a job that’s been up for a month, don't apply through Indeed. Go to LinkedIn, find the recruiter at that company, and send a polite message. "Hi, I saw the Senior Designer role on Indeed and noticed it's been open for a while. Is the team still actively interviewing?" It saves you time and makes you look proactive rather than like another random resume in the pile.
Using search filters to stay ahead of the curve
If you want to stop wondering how to see when a job was posted on Indeed and just see the new stuff, you have to master the filters. Don't just search "Marketing."
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- Use the Date Posted filter. Set it to "Last 24 hours" or "Last 3 days."
- Sort by Date instead of Relevance. Indeed's default "Relevance" sort is a mess of paid advertisements and "refreshed" posts. Sorting by date forces the newest entries to the top.
- Check the "Remote" filter carefully. Remote jobs are reposted more than any other category because they attract thousands of applicants, and recruiters have to "churn" the listing to find new people who aren't in the first 2,000 resumes.
Practical steps to take right now
Stop taking the timestamp at face value. It’s a suggestion, not a fact. To truly master your job search, change your workflow.
First, cross-reference everything. If a job looks good, find it on the company’s official "Careers" page. If it’s not there, it’s probably a ghost listing or an old post Indeed hasn't purged yet. Second, set up alerts for specific keywords. Instead of searching manually, let Indeed email you the second a job is indexed. These emails usually contain the freshest data before the "repost" cycles start messing with the dates.
Finally, if you find a listing that says "30+ days ago" but it’s your dream job, apply anyway—but spend exactly five minutes on it. Don't rewrite your life story for a cold lead. Save your heavy-hitting efforts for the roles you’ve verified were actually posted in the last 48 hours. The data is there; you just have to look behind the curtain.