What are "blind" job ads?

A “blind” advertisement withholds the employer’s identity, usually listing only a box number or recruiting agency contact. Employers use this when confidentially replacing incumbents or avoiding premature market signalling; the ad is otherwise a normal vacancy posting.

A. Pay secrecy ads are not labelled “blind” unless the employer name is also omitted.

C. Accessibility features (Braille/audio) do not make an ad “blind” in recruitment terminology.

D. Walk-in ads name the hiring firm; anonymity is the defining element of a blind ad.

1. Dessler, G. (2019). Human Resource Management, 15th ed., Ch. 5 “Recruiting a Diverse Workforce”, p. 161.

2. Breaugh, J. (2021). Recruiting and Attracting Talent, 2nd ed., SIOP Professional Practice Series, p. 77.

3. Armstrong, M. (2020). Armstrong’s Handbook of HRM Practice, 15th ed., Ch. 27 “Talent Management”, p. 657.