Should you apply for that job? Or is it a scam?
Worried something doesn’t seem right about the job you want to apply for? Here’s how to tell if it may be a scam.
Did you know that for every legitimate job advertised online there are 60-70 scams? So the chances of you accidentally applying for a job that doesn’t really exist (or is an MLM in disguise) is high.
But what can you do if you’re a genuine job hunter? How can you protect yourself from scams, and learn how to spot them?
According to consumer champions Which, three quarters of aren’t aware of the signs of a scam. However, there are some signs you can look for, and ways you can protect yourself from being scammed.
How to spot a scam
To start with, avoid any job that asks you to pay money upfront – for training, certification, to carry out checks, for products or marketing materials… or anything!
A job should pay you, not the other way around. And if your recruitment requires anything that costs money, that cost should be covered by your employer.
Likewise, if your interview takes place over the phone, do not get duped into calling a premium rate number. A legitimate company would have conference call options, or call you.
Another big red flag, is lack of professionalism. This can include contacting you via Facebook Messenger or using a non-professional email like @hotmail or @gmail, rather than a business email.
Poor grammar and typos are another clue that a job ad or communication may not be from a legitimate business.
How to avoid being targeted by scammers
There are also precautions you can take to avoid being targeted by scammers.
According to Which, to protect yourself make sure your CV never includes:
- Your date of birth
- Your full address
- Your passport number
- Your driving licence number
- Your National Insurance number
- Your marital status and number of children
- Your credit card or bank account numbers
- Your weight and height
- Your hair and eye colour
- A photo of you
Never fall for an MLM sales pitch
As we revealed here, MLM reps are fond of placing ‘job ads’, or contacting people who add their CV to job sites.
But not only is joining an MLM being hired for a job (there’s no pay nor benefits like holiday or sick pay, and you have no legal employment rights), it’s not even starting your own business.
When you join an MLM you become an unpaid sales rep with zero rights. And research shows that 70% of participants will earn less than 70 cents an hour. When you take into account business expenses, the number of people who will lose money in an MLM is a staggering 99.6%.
And it’s not just the financial loss that leaves so many victims of MLMs devastated. As the recent BBC documentary revealed, MLMs operate very similar to cults by appearing to brainwash recruits, and make them believe any failure is their own, rather than a flawed business model that only really benefits the founders and few at the very top.
So if the ‘job’ you’re being offered requires you to sell products without a salary, or recruit people to a team you build, run away!
So SHOULD you apply for that job?
If you’re in any doubt as to whether a job is legitimate or not, resume.io have created a handy flowchart for you. Just follow the questions and make sure that any job you apply for won’t leave you out of pocket.
Photo by Preston Goff
