Job seekers have a lot to deal with. First, the gruesome task of finding a job you are interested in, to hoping to get an interview invite, to actually getting an invite and getting to the job interview only to realise it was a scam from the beginning. Waste of time, waste of energy, waste of ironed clothes and the most painful one is the waste of transport money. Job seekers need a job to make money, now you’re actually losing money. “God safe you“ if you borrowed the money or you even took a cab to avoid sweating in traffic. Some people actually get scammed of their money and belongings all because they went for an interview for an ad position they saw online.
Here are 5 ways to know if an ad you saw online for a position is a scam
- You didn’t contact them, but they contacted you- When you get a job invite and you can’t seem to place when and where you applied for the job, chances are they found your resume online. They try to offer you a job right away or say they are interviewing finalists for the job.
- The job requirements are too broad- You see things like “Must be 18 years old, Must be a citizen, Must have access to the internet” or The job requirements doesn’t mention years of education or experience. The interviewer also often brushes off questions of job specifics and give answers like “Don’t worry, we’ll train you”
- Unprofessional emails- This is when they contact you, scam mails usually contain loads of spelling, capitalization, punctuation and grammatical mistakes.
- Emails don’t include contact information- If the email doesn’t include the company’s address and phone, it’s a good bet that it’s a scam
- Search results do not add up- If it’s a real company, you should be able to find information about the company by doing an online search. Finding information does not guarantee that the company is legit, but if you can’t find anything, you can bet it’s a scam
How can you avoid this menace of online job scams that people keep falling for? Here are 5 dos and don’ts every job seeker must adhere strictly to.
- Do your research on the company you are applying for, find out as much as possible. Do they have a reputable website or professional references?
- Be skeptical, if you are being offered a lot of money for very little work, it’s a trap. It could be an avenue to get personal information from you.
- Never pay for any employment offer, no matter how genuine it may seem. Authentic employers don’t need your money, they want to recruit you and pay you
- Avoid tests/interviews that have been scheduled to hold in fast foods, restaurants and small hotels. Save yourself the time and stress of attending.
- Trust your instincts. If a job sounds too good to be true, it is likely a scam.
