It is important that you protect yourself from scams or individuals who take advantage of people who are not working. Some of these situations can be extremely dangerous which is why it’s so important that you remain aware and cautious throughout your search efforts.
The following are possible red flags:
- They are requesting too much personal information. There are laws that protect you from questions about your race, religion, age, origin, etc. If a job posting asks personal questions or for a photo – do not apply.
- There is a cost attached to applying for the position. It doesn’t make a difference if the cost is $5 or $500, legitimate companies do not have you pay to interview.
- The application asks for your social security number or drivers’ license number up front to run so called credit checks. This is a very common scam for individuals involved in identify theft.
- The job posting had no company name, address, or email address. Some employers as well as recruiters run blind ads, but after you call in, you should be given information on their company so you can check them out before sending any information.
- No specific job title is provided and the ad appears to be directed at all job seekers. Often these are individuals or companies who will try to sell you something vs. offering you a job.
- Interviews are held in a private vs. public setting. Some employers do interview in restaurants or hotels, but they rent out conference rooms not private hotel rooms. Always protect yourself and if your gut is telling you something is just not right – listen to your instincts.
- The opportunity appears, too good to be true. In most instances, it is probably a front for a scam or they are trying to obtain your personal information.
- The job title doesn’t match the job description. If the job description is way beneath the title of the job, chances are the compensation will also be well beneath your desired salary level.
- The salary range is too broad. If a job is advertised as paying $10 to $40 an hour, it is rare that they will ever offer the top of this range. Often, this method is used to attract a higher caliber of job seeker who is interested in the top of the range.
- The job as been posted for months which almost always indicates one of two possibilities:
- The job was filled and the recruiter forgot to take down their posting
- The job is not worth your time to apply
Be sure to check out our job listings as well.
