Over the last few weeks, there was a Jobcaser who raised concerns on many posts about job scams. They replied over and over that Jobcase was overrun with scammers; they even made false claims that several legitimate job postings were scams, and this, rightly so, alarmed many of the individuals who make up this community.
First thing's first. Scammers are present on EVERY job board. This is not exclusive to Jobcase. They are on Indeed, Glassdoor, Google Jobs, Monster, and more. Sadly, this is the age in which we now live.
The Jobcase team, those who are actually employed by Jobcase (of which I am not), do a great job at responding to scams and spammers. However, it can seem a daunting and futile task. It is like that "Whack-a-Mole" game at fairs. A scammer pops up, you strike them down, and they pop up from another hole.
Additionally, you have a slew of individuals like myself who do our best to alert our fellow Jobcasers of scams when we see them posted.
In the end though, it is up to you to ensure your own safety and well-being on the internet.
Here is some information about scams and the top warning signs that you are being scammed. PLEASE READ THEM:
Too Good to be True
Good jobs are hard to find. Like your mom always said, if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Here are some tip-offs that the ‘job’ is fake.
You didn’t contact them; they contacted you
They say that they found your resume online. They either offer you a job right away or say they want to interview you. Sometimes the scammers will try to entice you by saying that you made the cut and they are interviewing the finalists for the job.
The pay is great
For example...
Healthcare Admin Assistant: “This is a work from home job. Work hours is from 9am-4pm Monday-Friday You will earn $45 per hour for this position, you are also expected online at Google Hangouts during working hours. We also offer flexible hours....”
You get the job right away
After a quick phone or Instant Message interview, the ‘interviewer’ immediately contacts you to offer you the job.
Vague Job Requirements and Job Description
Scammers try to make their emails sound believable by listing job requirements. Usually, these requirements are so ridiculously simple that almost everyone qualifies: Must be 18 years old, Must be a citizen, Must have access to the internet. (You wouldn’t be reading their email if you didn’t have internet access, right?) The job requirements don’t mention years of education or experience. As a rule of thumb, if it’s a real job, the requirements will be quite specific.
Job scam emails usually don’t include clear job descriptions, either. Many job seekers say that when they ask for a job description or list of job duties, they get the brush-off. The interviewer either ignores the questions or says something like “Don’t worry, we’ll train you.”
Unprofessional Emails
Some emails from scammers are well-written, but many aren’t. Real companies hire professionals who can write well. If the email contains spelling, capitalization, punctuation or grammatical mistakes, be on your guard. Here’s an example:
“The Human resources have just reviewed your resume due to the one you posted on a Job board.You are now scheduled for an interview with the hiring manager of the company.Her name is Mary Wind; you are required to set up a gmail mail account and download google hangouts.
Capitalization errors -- ‘Human resources’ should be ‘Human Resources’, and ‘google’ should be ‘Google’
Punctuation errors -- Commas, periods, and parentheses should be followed by a space
Grammatical errors -- “Human resources have reviewed” should be “Human Resources has reviewed...”
Online Interviews via Messaging Services
Many attempted scams say that the interview will take place online using an instant messaging service. The scammers often include instructions for setting up and contacting the hiring manager and may ask for confidential information.
Tip: If you’re applying for an online job and you’re told that the interview will take place online via instant message, research the company and its representatives before you agree to an interview. And if you agree to be interviewed, ask detailed questions about the job during the interview. Don’t give out confidential information such as your bank account, credit card or Social Security numbers. Don’t be fooled just because the interview questions sound real.
Emails Don’t Include Contact Information
If the email doesn’t include the company’s address and phone, it’s a good bet that it’s a scam. And it’s a good bet that it’s a scam if the interviewer makes an excuse for using a personal email address by saying the company’s servers are down, or the company is experiencing too many problems with spam, or the company hasn’t yet set up its email system.
Some scam emails will look like they come from real companies. For example, the scammer’s email address could be jobs@senergy-world.com. The real company email is jobs@senergyworld.com
Tip: Look at the email address carefully, then copy/paste it into the search box. You can also type in the word ‘scam’ after the email address to see if someone else has reported the company.
Search Results Don’t Add Up
Before agreeing to an interview, do your research. If it’s a real company, you should be able to find information about the company by doing an online search. Finding information does not guarantee that the company is legit, but if you can’t find anything, you can bet it’s a scam.
Tip: Sophisticated scammers sometimes set up nice-looking websites -- but looks can be deceiving. Try this: go to the Domain White Pages and type the company’s web address into the “domain or IP address” box and click the “go” button. The results will tell you the date when the website was created. If the website is less than a year old, be on your guard.
Tip: When searching for information about the company, search for both the company’s name and the email address. Also, copy/paste paragraphs from the email into the search box. Scammers may change the company name but re-use the other parts of the email, and it’s possible you’ll find an identical email posted online.
You’re Asked to Provide Confidential Information
Some scammers ask for your bank account information to set up direct deposit or transfer money to your account, or ask you to open a new bank account and provide the information to them:
Other scammers will tell you to go to a website and fill out a credit report form or provide confidential information so they can “put you on the company insurance.” Identity theft scams try to get you to provide your Social Security number and birth date and other personal information.
Tip: Before entering personal information online, check to make sure the website is secure by looking at the web address bar. The address should be https:// not http://
Sending Money or Valuables, Using Your Personal Bank Account
SomeJobcasers report that they’ve received checks that look like real cashiers checks. They are instructed to deposit the check, keep some of the money for themselves and send the rest of the money to someone else via Western Union or Money Gram. Then, a few days or weeks later, they get a call from the bank saying the check is fake. They have lost the money they sent. Here’s an example from a reader:
Some scammers ask to use your personal bank account to transfer money from one account to another account. It is called money laundering, and it’s against the law. Other scams ask you to receive and forward packages from your home. These packages might contain stolen goods or illegal substances.
They Want You to Pay for Something Legitimate companies don’t ask for money. If you’re told that you need to purchase software or pay for services, beware.
Okay, here's the deal. Please instead of going on multiple websites or spending countless hours online, drive to find locations that can suit your needs.
Write a list of your skill set and then determine what you like to do best. Spend time out, venturing in areas that you have never gone to and eventually, even accidentally, perhaps you might find something unexpected.
So for example, I had initially applied online to several locations. It didn't work. So I changed my strategy, I actually went to places, I even went as far as places in the Carolinas, even further south and I determined all of the various possibilities. I also studied the areas and mission statements of places of employment alongside the cultures. For example, I snowboard, so I looked into places that I would be able to snowboard and work simultaneously. I am a registered nurse, I physically drive to so many hospitals all over the US. I am also and have been in management, I don't feel like being in management so I chose not to pursue those things. I am also a highly educated teacher, I decided that because teachers don't get the recognition coupled by the disparity in both literacy and other factors that I didn't want to do that at this current time. I looked into so many things, even being a nanny, if I wanted to pursue my doctorate degree.
After gathering information and after being offered different positions, I was able to select what was best.
It is Not always about how much a company is going to pay an employee. Please remember that businesses are hiring someone that they feel is an investment. If you owned a company, wouldn't you do the same?
So therefore this is my advice, take it or leave it...(my advice).... it is imperative that you select the best area that is suitable for you and your situation. If you find yourself in this website all too much while looking for encouragement, you are wasting time when it could be productive.
If I was an owner of a profitable business, and if I had to select prospective employees, do you honestly think I am going to make a decision or judgement call on what all you people are saying or complaining about? Yes. I can tell you right now, those of you that choose to swear and make negative comments, I would not hire at all.
Do you think as an owner, that I would want to employ an individual who cannot articulate something that's important? That's obvious once again. No, I personally would not, not if I was looking for someone to be the first person greeting my customers in the morning.
If I was hiring laborers for a construction company, I want to know the skill set and how efficient and how well someone calculated math appropriately.
Each position requires a specific skill set and honestly no employer that I know want to hire the complainer or the person that gossips or the person that can be someone who has been involved with sexual harassment or those that have stalked other employees. Why would a company want that? The point is that they wouldn't.
Please don't swear on this website, it's very unprofessional. Please instead of saying that you've applied to hundreds of places and are getting discouraged, go to these places instead of wasting time on this forum.
If you are out of work, look for volunteer opportunities OR if you are fortunate enough apply for financial aid or grants to go back and further your education, look into other schools besides colleges and universities if you are able to do so. Other schools such as two year colleges have the same professional teachers as a four year university. Technical schools such as the technical high schools offer skilled training and cost 1/2 or 3/4 the amount of other privately owned corporations paying into our state.
If there is a need to ask for advice, sometimes it can be more effective personally speaking to someone rather than posting on this forum.
I wish everyone the best of luck on their job search, however, always keep in your brain that companies do not want to hire negative people, they also don't want to hire people that also throw their "boss" under the table. That in itself is 100 percent unprofessional.
If your not getting a job, it's NOT YOU PERSONALLY, the fact is that you haven't looked into other ways of finding the right place to work.
Good luck! Please don't bother commenting on my comment because I am getting off this website as soon as I have the availability to do so. Thanks and have a nice day everyone!
Hi Fellow Jobcasers and Jobseekers,
Did you know that there is more to Jobcase than just an awesome community?
Many visitors here think the Community is where jobs are found. While the Community tab is filled with other people just like you, it is mostly for advice, support, and the occasional venting.
However, there are not many employers scouring the Community page for workers. It is up to you to take the initiative to apply for jobs. Luckily, you don't have to leave Jobcase to do this.
•Simply scroll to the top of the page •Locate the "Jobs & Companies" link and click on it •Enter the type of job that for which you are looking •Enter your city and state, or zip code •Then search and apply
You can narrow down the results by distance from your desired city and even select from what sources you cull your results. Jobcase is an aggregator that pulls jobs from a myriad of top employment sites. You don't have to leave the site to head to Indeed, LinkedIn, etc...
Here is a quick video to show you how easy it is:
https://www.screencast.com/t/gkFrQBETrDi
If you don't have a resume already, simply fill out your Jobcase profile with your contact information and your work history/experience, then export your new fancy resume and save it to send to companies for whom you wish to work.
I've noticed quite a few posts on this forum with people who need assistance on looking for a job online jobcase. I'll try to break it down easier to make the job search easier.
I took a photo of my page on my computer screen.
I clicked on Jobs and Companies, and typed in my state ( you can be more specific by typing your city). As you can see on the left - where it says *DISTANCE WITHIN, you can select how far you want to look. Then underneath, it says JOB SOURCES, those are online job search engines. So when you look for jobs on jobcase, you'll find all of the jobs posted on the job boards by these "job sources". So to broaden your search, I would select " All".
As you can see, I typed in Production Manager as an example and I have a full screen of job postings at my disposal. You can see underneath each job posting what the job source is - Posted on Jobcase, Posted on CareerBuilder.
I hope I helped some of you navigate the job search a bit better. Jobcase can help but it's better to be proactive and look yourself too! Just a reminder - some of these jobs require to you to make an account in order to apply such as careerbuilder, monster or indeed. I highly recommend doing that.
Good Luck and Get that Job!