How to Identify/Know a Fake Job Recruitment Advert

How to Identify/Know a Fake Job Recruitment Advert

One of the many hurdles fresh graduates have to scale through in their quest to get jobs is that of fake recruitment outfits. Unfortunately myriad of graduates falls victim to these fraudsters every day.

This is, by no small means, affecting the job of Human Resources Professionals, as job seekers occasionally find it difficult to differentiate fake from real recruiters. To help expose these dubious practitioners, below are some yardsticks.

1. CHARGES:

This is the first sign of fraudulent recruitment. Irrespective of the nomenclature given to collecting money from you, extortion is extortion, either at the beginning of the process, middle, or end of the exercise. As soon as you notice any kind of charge in a bid to get you a job, make a U-turn.

Some of them hide under the guise of being outsourcing firms and that they run their business with the ‘token’ charged to their clients (job seekers). Far from it. REAL outsourcing firms don’t make a dime from job seekers; they make their monies from their clients – employers.

2. LENIENT SCREENING PROCESS:

Apart from the usual unprofessional ‘man-know-man’ screening for ‘special’ applicants, in any recruitment screening process where you have a walkover, where everything is waived, and at the end of it.

The recruiter still offers you the job; be cautious as such a recruiter is a likely suspect of the fake agency.

3. MEANS OF APPLICATION:

The means of applying for a job says a lot about the recruiter. You can get to tell a serious recruiter from a fake one through how their adverts expect you to apply for the job. You shouldn’t expect anything serious from a recruiter who requires you to apply for an opening through SMS. Similarly requesting applications through any other unconventional way is a sign of fake recruitment outfits.

That is not to say all recruitment outfits that require you to apply through the conventional ways are genuine, some of them try as much as possible to imitate the normal recruitment process only to lead you to a point where your morale is at its peak and then demand some money with pleasant description.

4. CONTENT OF THE INVITE:

There are minimum requirements in the content of any interview invite: The name of the recruiting/employing firm, the position you are being considered for, the location of the interview, the time and date of the interview. Whenever any or some of the above is missing in any job interview invitation you get, please be double-sure before you head to such a destination.

Many job seekers have fallen prey to kidnappers in a bid to earn a livelihood. But with these, you are at least 50% sure of not getting into the wrong hand. That is not to say some scammers won’t scale through this test and that some genuine companies won’t fall short of these minimum requirements due to the ignorance of the person in charge of their recruitment. But with this and other points being considered you are sure of not going wrong.

5. UNPROFESSIONAL CORRESPONDENCE:

For those who are used to receiving mail from internet scammers, you will agree with me that one of the ways of identifying that scam emails is through their blunders. They are prone to bad grammar or careless typos.

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The same thing is applicable to fake recruitment outfits. Because they are not professionals, their correspondences are always fraught with blunders.

6. YOU DID NOT CONTACT THEM THEY CONTACTED YOU:

For a recruiter to contact you, you must have some special skills, knowledge, and experience that is next to none, this is headhunting.

However. in a situation where you are just the usual job seeker out there and some funny ‘firm’ come with the story “we found your resume online” they either offer you a job right away or invite you for their final interview stage right away; in such situations, shine your eyes.

7. SHABBY ENVIRONMENT:

Environment says a lot about an organization. If a recruitment firm or company claims to be legal in its operation, one will naturally expect some level of serenity in its location of operation.

But in a situation where the office is not too different from a village Head-Master’s office, there is cause for concern. It is likely such an entity is not operating legally or hiding under “legality” to extort unsuspecting innocent citizens.

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8. PRODUCT OR SERVICE MARKETING:

Any firm which tells you that marketing a product or service (in whatever guise) is a pre-requisite for offering you a job is likely enslaving you so think twice before embarking on such a mission.

Even if the job you are applying for is for the post of a marketer, ask if there is no probation period in their employment policy and why you have to start working before getting hired.

9. FACELESS OR BAD IMAGE:

This being the last is by no means the least; in fact, it is one of the key determinants of fake recruitment firms. As soon as you gain access to ANY information about your prospective employer (be it the name of the company or the address of the company), Google it straight away and use the information to know about the company.

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However, if they are scammers you will get hints about them on the internet and that should be an eye-opener for you to tread with caution. And if throughout your search you still did not get any information about them, then the likelihood of such a recruitment firm being fake is high. You can then apply the other yardsticks raised above.

7+ Tips to Protect Yourself from a Job Scam 

Unfortunately, no matter how familiar you are with the many sorts and warning indicators, you can never be completely protected from work scams.

After all, scammers are continuously “re-inventing” employment scams, but you could also be in a situation where you desperately need a job and fall victim to a scam.

As a result, whenever you come across a listing that appears suspicious, make certain that you:

Conduct an internet search. See what comes up when you Google the company, the employer, or the recruiter. For example, if you receive an email with a job offer from a random name claiming to be a recruiter, look up their name online (or on LinkedIn) to determine whether their claim is true.
Speak with someone you trust. If you come across a job listing that sounds too good to be true (for example, it promises high income in exchange for minimum abilities), share it to someone you know and trust. They might be able to provide you a second perspective on whether it’s an employment scam or the real thing.
Don’t pay for the assurance of a job. If you are forced to pay for work, it is almost always a scam. In most cases, you can’t just pay for a job; you have to earn it. So, if you receive an offer that says you can only pay for a position, you can be sure it’s a fraud.
Make contact with the company. Have you seen a job posting on social media purportedly from a company? Don’t believe everything you hear. Send an email to the firm inquiring if the offer is legitimate, or at the very least, check the company’s website to see if the listing is there. If the job opening is genuine, it should be listed on the website.
Never agree to any kind of wire transfer. Thieves frequently use wire transfers. They consist of quickly shifting money from one account to another, and it is very hard to reclaim those funds. So, if you receive an email purportedly from a firm executive asking you to wire money due to the unavailability of a more convenient payment method, that’s your first clue that it’s a job scam.

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Additionally

Reject job offers that do not demand any prior experience. As previously said, every job that earns a respectable wage will necessitate some level of education or experience in the subject. So, if the job offer offers good/easy money for a simple task, it’s probably a no-go.
Don’t agree to give a potential employer your banking information. Obviously, you will need to submit sensitive information to your company, such as your bank account information, at some point. However, no legitimate employer will ever ask for your bank account information before you start working.
Avoid interacting with possible employers that pressure you to respond quickly. When the fraudster wants you to “close the deal” and give them your money or personal information, this is a common symptom of a job scam. A typical hiring procedure takes at least 1-3 weeks, depending on the employer. So, any company that promises a lightning-fast hiring procedure is almost certainly a con artist.
Accept an offer if you did not apply. Scammers will sometimes approach you out of nowhere, claiming you’ve been recruited for a job you didn’t apply for. Of course, this is a hoax.

Credit: Jarushub

Feel free to add any thing you feel has been omitted.

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