The Recruitment Tricksters

Inventing Anna, The Tinder Swindler, Catch Me If You Can…we love watching shows and films about tricksters and con artists.

But there are employment scams out there that bring nothing but misery.

Worried something about a job offer doesn’t seem legit?

Here are 5 warning signs:

1. They contacted you first

In 80% of employment scams communication was initiated by the scammer first. Email and text are the most common ways they make that first contact. Of course, legitimate companies and recruiters regularly reach out to potential employees too, so carefully check the email address or phone number against a company to establish if it’s genuine.

2. The job description is non-specific and full of grammar errors

A red flag is if the job description could pretty much include everyone including your gran’s gran. Plus, many contain obvious spelling errors. Scammers don’t want to narrow down potential victims by including specific qualifications or experience. So, if a job description seems vague, poorly written and promises a salary that seems too good to be true, it’s probably fake.

3. They interview you on email or through an instant messaging format

Legitimate recruiters don’t employ people this way. After an initial contact via email, it’s likely we’ll speak to you on the phone, conduct video interviews and even meet you in person. If the contact information you have can’t be tied directly to a legitimate company, then step away.

4. You feel pressured

A classic tactic of an employment scammer is to move quickly before you have time to make considered decisions and pressure you to take the job. They may wow you with life-changing big money examples. This is often a tactic to later get you to spend money on fake training courses. Legitimate job offers should be in writing from an official source.

5. They ask for money upfront

From spending money on your own equipment, training courses, an initial try-out, promising to reimburse you later…all big warning signs. No legitimate recruiter will ask you to do this.

There are amazing legitimate jobs out there and brilliant recruiters like us to help you find them.

So, let’s keep the con artists on Netflix and out of recruitment.

 Written by Jason Connolly