Avoid Hiring Scams
Scam artists take many forms in the business world ranging from businesses with shady business tactics to the downright deceptive. Business deception comes in a few forms but for the purposes of this article I’m referring to deceptive employers.
Most people know when something sounds too good to be true it usually is when they are shown some new product or scheme so they don’t buy into it. But far less people use this common sense when looking at potential employers. In the days of old most jobs came through referrals from a friend or going into a place of interest and inquiring about a job but the internet changed all of that. Now most people try to find jobs through job search engines or career tool sites and with the widespread practice of businesses insisting that you apply online for a job. It has become prudent to do your homework on the potential employer you are looking at. This is especially true if you happen to find the job of your dreams from a job search site.
Is an employer legitimate if their recruiter finds me?
The short answer is they can be. In an ideal world they would be but nothing is ideal. So when posting your resume in online databases and services like Monster and other large career sites be sure to keep track of the places where you have put your resume on the internet because scam artists love to search through these places and will pose as recruiters. If you decided to get in contact with the recruiter don’t be afraid to ask how and where they found your contact information so you can get an idea of how trustworthy they are.
What should I be looking for when I find a potential employer?
1) Determine that your potential employer is reputable and not conducting business so poorly that it will later reflect on your professional career.
2) Determine that your potential job is for a real company. This sounds ridiculous but some job postings online lead to fake job applications that are only there to harvest information. In other words they are often looking to steal your identity.
3) If a job posting indicates the wage via $$ per hour or $$$$-$$$$ annual. Try to figure out if that is a realistic figure or is just a pipe dream to lure you into putting your information into a form online. This may not be easy to decipher if the wage is realistic but a dead giveaway for example is entry level job with no experience needed and listed wage is $120,000 annual. This is highly unlikely; remember if it sounds too good to be true it probably is.
4) Be critical of a job posting that is poorly written with errors in grammar in spelling. More often than not legit postings are not in all capital letters. Not that either is a guarantee that a job posting is bogus but it should be a red flag.
Where can I find information about a potential employer?
1) Try the Ripoff Report. They have reports on consumer scams, you’ll get decent ideas of what could go wrong at potential companies.
2) Try looking for the company on the Better Business Bureau (BBB) website http://www.bbb.org/
3) In a search engine type: “Name of Business” Scam. This will allow the search engine to look for that businesses exact name and any reference it may have to the word scam.
4) Try finding the business on Google Maps, Yelp or related local search -often you can read reviews on a particular location which is good for franchise based businesses.
The business seems legit, is there anything else I should know?
Yes, when you go to apply there is no reason to give over any personal information such as Social Security number over the phone for a background check. For a business to perform a background check you need to fill out some very specific forms authorizing the business to do so. Also, I would recommend you not fill out credit check information before going into an interview if you are on the fence about the employer because it allows you to back out. If you are interested this allows for new opportunities for you to show how well you can follow up.