Falling victim to a scam during a job search is a painful experience, especially for people looking for their first job while holding their hopes high. We will review some malevolent practices in the domain of job search and career services. In the article, we’ll describe the features of reliable and legitimate services so that you can recognize both.
Stay Away from Shady Job Services: Here is How to Recognize Them
The fact that some scammers can take advantage of people looking for employment is unthinkable. Instead of ordering medical resume writing service, career support, or coaching, job seekers may fall victim to those, losing money and precious time. Unfortunately, now and then, it still happens. Check the tricks used by scammers below.
- Job application fees. Some scammers will ask job seekers to pay a fee to apply for a job. Legitimate employers never charge applicants such a fee;
- ‘Guaranteed’ job offers. Scammers may promise job seekers a guaranteed job offer in exchange for a fee or personal information. Do we need to emphasize that employment is never guaranteed until you get an offer from a verified employer (and accept it)?;
- Work-from-home scams. Scammers may advertise work-from-home jobs that require an upfront payment or personal information. Legitimate work-from-home jobs should not require an upfront payment. And you, as a job seeker, should research the company and job offer before applying;
- Pyramid (Ponzi) schemes. Some scams may disguise themselves as legit but are pyramid schemes incentivizing job seekers to recruit others to make money. You can recognize them right away if they offer elaborate “membership levels” based on the number of recruits you enlist;
- Fake job postings. Scammers may post phony job listings on legitimate job search websites to collect personal information from job seekers. Paying pennies for professional services and thus relying on a high bounce rate of naive employees counts as a scam as well;
- Phishing scams. Scammers may send fake emails that appear to be from a legitimate company, asking job seekers to provide personal information or login credentials.
The scammers act as intermediaries between an employer and a job seeker or impersonate an employer. To summarize: interaction with scammers usually involves upfront payments and free or underpaid labor. It will also have no social guarantees and no legal support.
Avoid Abuse with Simple and Effective Measures
For every low trick the scammers employ, there is a countermeasure. It is never something laborious or time-consuming, but worth the effort:
- Research the company. Before applying for a job, research the company thoroughly. Check their website, social media pages, and reviews online. Look for any red flags, such as a lack of information about the company or negative reviews from former employees;
- Never pay for job opportunities. It is a direct countermeasure to one of the scam techniques listed above. The normal application process never involves applicant payments. As for the career support services, they might promise an improvement in your performance but cannot guarantee 100% employment;
- Be cautious of work-from-home opportunities. While there are legitimate work-from-home opportunities, be careful of job postings that promise high pay for minimal work. If the opportunity sounds too good to be true, it probably is;
- Don’t share personal information. Be cautious of companies that request personal information. Sharing your social security number, bank account, or credit card details is a big ‘NO.’ Only after you have received an offer and verified a given company is it okay to share the necessary personal data;
- Beware of unsolicited job offers. If you receive an unsolicited job offer, be cautious. It might indicate that a job provider is desperate for recruits. On the other hand, it might mean that you are famous in your area of expertise. Nonetheless, research the job offer and the company behind it thoroughly to verify its authenticity;
- Use secure job search websites. Use reputable job search websites with strong security measures to protect your personal information or only display the data you meant to be public. Never follow HTTP links – look for the ???? sign in the address bar and make sure the address starts with HTTPS;
- Trust your instincts. If something feels off about a job posting or company, trust your instincts and don’t apply. There is usually a reasonable explanation for an eerie feeling you might have when reviewing a certain offer – it is just hard to wrap it into words at the moment. Take some time to investigate the source of suspicion.
How Can SkillHub Help in the Job Hunt?
Skillhub is very straightforward concerning its services or limitations. More about writing services you can read here livecareer review. The blog section is full of valuable career tips and insights, while the website’s main focus is providing resume writing, editing, and proofreading services and you don’t need to worry about the cost of a resume writer it’s very affordable.
Many other career support services offer additional resources and support to job seekers, such as video guides, one-to-one coaching, and interview preparation, which sometimes go as far as tackling each possible interview question one by one.
All these services are helpful for different kinds of job seekers at different stages of their search. Still, Skillhub professionals stick to the idea that a resume is a cornerstone of the application process because it defines the first impression of a given applicant.
Final Thoughts
Of course, as with any service, it is essential to research and choose a reputable and trustworthy one. Study various alternatives, read reviews and testimonials, and verify the credentials and experience of the service providers. By doing so, you can avoid scams and find a resume writing service and career support that best fits your current career goals.
Contact Skillhub’s resume writing service to make your job search safe.
FAQ
Which are the most popular job-hunting scams?
The most popular job-hunting scams are job application scams, ‘guaranteed’ job offers, work-from-home scams, fake job postings, and phishing.
How can I protect myself from job-hunting scams?
Research the company online to gather reviews, avoid sharing your data, don’t transfer money, and stay cautious of unsolicited job offers.