Private Advertiser on SEEK: Should You Apply?

What "Private Advertiser" means on a SEEK job ad

Where a SEEK job ad normally shows the company name, a Private Advertiser job ad shows the words "Private Advertiser". You get no company name, reviews or branding to go on.

It is a setting the company picks when it posts the job ad. SEEK's employer help for its Asia sites describes it: "By toggle on for 'Hide company name, reviews, branding on job ads', your company details will be showing as private advertiser when your job ad is posted." So the job ad still comes from a SEEK employer account.

That setting sits awkwardly with SEEK's own advice to job seekers. Its Job Seeker Security Hub lists, as a scam indicator: "Legitimate job ads of companies clearly display their official company name as the advertiser or social media handle. If the account name seems off or different, treat it as suspicious." SEEK offers the Private Advertiser setting anyway, so check a Private Advertiser job ad more closely than one that shows a company name.

Why an employer posts as a Private Advertiser

Jobsdb, SEEK's job site in Hong Kong, gives confidentiality as the reason. It says it allows employers to recruit confidentially as a "Private Advertiser" "for various reasons, such as advertising for a position before the incumbent employee has vacated the role."

Who gets your resume when you apply to a Private Advertiser job ad

SEEK's privacy policy describes what happens when you apply to any job ad. It says that when you apply, it may share "the information in your Profile and in your application with the relevant Advertiser," and that your information may be stored in SEEK's Advertiser Centre, the Advertiser's careers platform, or the Advertiser's recruitment software. In the policy, the Advertiser is whoever posted the job ad, such as an employer or a recruiter. SEEK adds that it cannot ensure the security of your information "stored by the Advertiser outside of our Platforms."

The same policy says questions about your application "should be directed directly to the Advertiser." A Private Advertiser job ad does not tell you who that is.

On 9 December 2024, Hong Kong's privacy regulator published findings on "blind job advertisements" that eight organisations had posted on Jobsdb. Jobsdb says that, combined with its Quick Apply feature, Private Advertiser job ads "led to the unfair collection of job seekers' personal data, including their name, contact details, and resumes," because applicants sent it to employers "they could not readily identify." Jobsdb paused Private Advertiser job ads from November 2024 and said it would allow them again for Hong Kong employers from 12 December 2024, without Quick Apply. Those findings cover Hong Kong, not SEEK Australia, but they describe the problem you face whenever you apply to an employer you cannot name.

How to tell if a Private Advertiser job ad is worth applying to

SEEK's Security Hub also advises: "Before applying for a job, check if the company is authentic and has an established online presence, such as an official website." A Private Advertiser job ad gives you no company to check, so judge the job ad by what it does say. Check it against these points from the Security Hub. If it passes them and the job fits, apply.

• Clear details are a good sign. SEEK warns that scams "often lack proper details about the role, responsibilities or requirements," so a job ad that spells these out counts in its favour.
• An offer that sounds too good is a warning sign. High pay for little effort, or an offer for a job you never applied for, are on SEEK's list of scam indicators.
• A request for money is a warning sign. SEEK says legitimate opportunities "don't require payments for application processing, securing the job or materials for training."
• Contact details should check out. If the job ad gives an email address or phone number, SEEK suggests confirming them "by cross-referencing the company's official website."

If you apply, send what any employer needs to assess you: your resume and answers to any screening questions. SEEK says to "never share sensitive information like bank details or identification documents before receiving a formal job offer." When the employer gets in touch, ask who they are before a first interview. SEEK's advice: "Don't hesitate to ask recruiters why they need certain details or how they will protect your data. A legitimate company will have clear responses." For the wider list of scam tactics, see how to spot a job scam.

If a Private Advertiser job ad is vague or shows one of the warning signs in the list above, click Mark as Dismissed on its card in HideJobs, and it stays out of your next searches while the Dismissed filter is on. A Private Advertiser job ad has no company name to remember it by, so when you apply, click Mark as Applied. The job stays hidden in your results while the Applied filter is on, and HideJobs asks "Add to Job Tracker?" so you can save it to your HideJobs job tracker as Applied.

Hide Private Advertiser job ads on SEEK

If Private Advertiser job ads are not worth your time, the HideJobs browser extension takes them off the page. It works on SEEK Australia search results (seek.com.au and au.seek.com) in a desktop browser and opens in the browser's side panel.

Switch on Private Advertiser in the Job Search Filters panel. Every job ad on the results page that shows exactly "Private Advertiser" in place of the company name is hidden. A small Private badge on the page shows how many job ads it hid. Click it to turn the filter off when you want a look at them, and again to hide them.

The other HideJobs filters on SEEK hide other jobs you don't want to see. To read how busy each job is before you apply, see SEEK application volume.