With a recession in full swing everyone knows that there are graduates and other people looking for jobs, some of whom may be quite desperate. Unfortunately there are people out there who see this fact as an opportunity to scam jobhunters.
Job scams can take several forms, some of which we have blogged about before:
In recent weeks we have heard several stories from graduates who have been contacted after posting their CVs on national jobsites (things like Monster) or on blogs. They were invited for interviews by companies.
One was for a part-time courier position where the job involved sending and receiving unspecified parcels – think what illegal goods you could unwittingly end up handling!
Another offered training courses, the cost of which would be deducted from the graduate’s salary once he got a job – but there was no guarantee the courses would actually be useful or relevant, and no guarantee that a job would be found. We were concerned that the graduate might be liable for the costs of the courses even if they proved to be of no help to his jobsearch.
If something does not ring true about a job vacancy or offer what can you do about it?
- See the information on our website about spotting scam jobs
- Follow the advice on the Financial Services Authority (FSA) webguide to staying safe against scams. This site also includes links to places you can report scams for investigation.
Filed under: Wise words from the Careers Service
