“Is this Job Posting a Scam?”

You can find millions of job postings on the Internet every day. Unfortunately, not all of them are legitimate. Upwardly Global put together a list to help you avoid scams, protect your identity, and save yourself a lot of time. 

1. If a headhunter or a staffing agency attempts to collect money from you for the service of finding you a job, walk away! A legitimate headhunter or staffing agency will be paid by the employer, not the jobseeker.
2. Did you spot spelling or grammar mistakes in the job posting? Stop right there. A real job posting will be carefully reviewed by the HR department or recruiter and will not be full of errors.
3. Be wary if an employer or a recruiter is asking for your banking, social security, or credit card information upfront as part of the application process. If the job was real, they would not ask you for this information upfront. Please note, however, that some large organizations do background, credit, and drug checks during final interview stages.
4. If the job description says “no experience or expertise is required, create your own hours, work from home, start today,” but promises high pay, this is a scheme to make money off of jobseekers. Keep in mind that in this economy, experience is ALWAYS necessary for the jobs that you, as a professional, are interested in. Alternatively, you can search the Internet for the name of the company to learn more. A legitimate company or organization will always have a website with clear information about what they do, their products or services, and a list of staff that you can contact.
5. Did you receive a voicemail or email after posting your resume on the Internet job board, but the person has not informed you the name of the company or the job they are considering you for? Proceed with caution! The truth is in the details, and if there are no details even after you’ve asked, don’t trust it. You can also use the Internet to search for the phone number the person called from – you might find that others have complained online about dealing with this “recruiter” in the past. You can also pay more attention to the email address that they use. A legitimate company, whatever its size might be, will never use a free email service as their official email address. A job offer from Upwardly Global, for example, will always come from [name]@upwardlyglobal.org not from [name]@gmail.com or [name]@yahoo.com. This is probably one of the biggest clues to decipher the real motive behind a job offer.
6. Similarly, if they say they’ll help you find a job for free, but then they charge you money to take “mandatory training classes” first, you have to proceed with caution! You may not find this out until you arrive at the “interview,” so it is important to ask a lot of questions when they call you about the “job opportunity.” Try to find out if you will be required to take a class. If they say yes, or if they sound suspicious, you want to end the conversation there.

About Upwardly Global Upwardly Global, founded in 2000, is a national, award-winning nonprofit organization with offices in San Francisco, New York, and Chicago. Upwardly Global helps work-authorized, skilled immigrants rebuild their professional careers in the U.S. by providing professional job search training and access to employers with global talent needs. To date, the organization has coached 2,400 skilled immigrants and has assisted over 900 professionals back into their career field. To learn more about the organization, please visit www.upwardlyglobal.org.