Employment scams are an unfortunate reality for today's job seeker. Having spent about a year as an
unemployed job seeker, I ran into my fair share and learned to sniff them out quickly. It took a bit of time to get used to the tell tale signs, but I got really good at figuring them out. Hopefully what I discovered will help one of you if you're currently looking for a job.
Where will you run into scams?
Most of the modern job boards have done a great job of policing the entries employers are putting up on their site. A few years ago, a scam would sneak through quite often but now it's pretty difficult to find one. Craigslist or similar sites are a different story though. While Craigslist can actually be a great resource for finding jobs that aren't posted on the large job boards, you also have to be more careful.
What to look for
The old adage, "If it sounds too good to be true it probably is," is exactly how you have to filter scams. With the job seeker climate still being as bad as it is, there just aren't many employers leaping to hire you. I remember right out of college I was called and told I could have a management position with an established company. When I showed up to the "interview" I was given a name tag and ushered into a presentation room full of other job seekers and told about Primerica. Throughout the presentation, people got up and left. The
Nachosrule Blog has a great write up of his experience and it's similar to my own, except I actually went to the interview because my instincts weren't as good as his. While not necessarily a scam, it was a Multi-Level Marketing organization, which they were up front about. As a job seeker who's probably low on cash anyway, it just isn't something you probably want to invest your money in.
If you get calls out of the blue where you're told your resume has been seen on Monster.com, Careerbuilder.com, or anywhere else, be wary. Like I said, with the job market so saturated with fellow job seekers, real employment opportunities are not this easy to get. Often, they won't say what company they're calling from and will be very vague about what the actual job entails. If you state on your resume that you're a marketing professional, they'll say they have a marketing position available. If you're in sales, they'll say they have a sales position open. You get the idea.
Detective work
The employment scams are getting better at hiding their true nature. Thanks to the Internet, as soon as a scam pops up, the public sends out warning posts on blogs and in social media. Here are some methods to use to figure out whats really going on:
- If you know the name of the company, go to Google, make sure "Instant is on" is checked in your search preferences, and just start typing the name of the company. When instant search is on, a list of the most popular search terms associated with what you are typing immediately starts to populate the drop down menu. If the word 'scam' is associated with the company name, you've just found out that other people are already talking about this company. Finish the search and read a few links because tip #2 relates directly to your search.
- If you find blog posts or forum threads about the company you're researching regarding scams, read them. Chances are they'll list vital information about the company including what other names the company has had in the past. In Southern California, there are some notorious name changers like the SoCal Group and CMT. They change their name every couple of years to try and shake their reputation.
- If you don't have a company name but they gave you an address to show up to for an interview, Google the address and look for the company name associated with it. If you find a name, go back to tip #1.
- If all you have is a phone number, Google the phone number. Occasionally it'll be listed publicly and attached to a company name. Again, go to tip #1 once you get the name.
- Sometimes you'll be given a name of the person you are suppose to interview with or the person who first contacted you. Look on LinkedIn or just Google them. You might be able to find the company name. Yep, back up to tip #1 now.
Instincts
While its good to be prepared and know what to look for when it comes to employment scams, don't get wrapped up in researching every company you run across. Go with your gut feeling. That can be the best gauge of a situation or job offer. Remember, you're not always going to be interviewing with Coca-Cola, Disney, Apple, or Boeing. You are going to run into a ton of companies you've never heard of before. Just check out their website and do some quick research. Chances are, if a scam is known, you'll see it very easily.
Have you run in to any scams in your job search? What happened? What set off alarms for you?
Thomas and I visited Granville Island on our recent trip to Vancouver. We took a False Creek Ferry (which is a boat the size of a car) from downtown Vancouver to Granville Island. It was chilly and drizzling outside, but once we stepped inside of the Public Market, we were toasty warm and soon stuffed with food! We stopped by a crepe maker for breakfast and were thrilled that they were the second best crepes (only to the ones in London) we have ever tasted. After we had our fill of Nutella, we wandered the rest of the market, and daydreamed about living in Vancouver and shopping in the Public Market for all of our food. There was every type of fresh vegetable and fruit you could imagine. There were fresh fish caught that morning, local beef, cheese, pasta, candy, chocolates, wine, and much more. We lamented that we were not staying in a hotel room with a kitchenette since we would have loved to stock up on fresh ingredients for a gourmet home made meal...next time!
