Job Seekers have a lot on their minds during their search. While many continue to work a job, they have to review job postings, reply, and then go through the interview process hoping for an offer to consider. It used to be that you did not have to worry about whether the company that you are applying for is legitimate. You probably walked right through their front door and into their lobby to apply.
However, now with the advent of remote work and companies with no centralized location, the concept of fraudulent companies is becoming more commonplace. Criminals will post phony positions with fake companies in hopes of securing private information from you during the process. It used to be very direct, such as the need to send money in order to be considered. Now, it is as simple as getting personal data from you, up to and including your Social Security Number in order to mine information from you. These personal details allows these criminals to electronically break into your accounts in order to steal from you.
There are several things you can do to properly vet any job posting to make sure it is legitimate. Let’s look now at some easy tips that can help protect you.
• Consider the source of the job posting that you are preparing to reply to. A local job website such as WNYJOBS.com, with real human sales representatives, are more likely to know their clients and filter out anyone trying to scam job seekers. The national websites basically allow anyone with a credit card to post as long as they pay for the privilege. Quite frankly, the scammers are probably going to avoid even attempting to post on a local website such as WNYJOBS.com due to the vetting that they will do.
• Do you recognize the company? There are many companies across Western New York that we will immediately recognize based on their name. I would recommend, however, you take the additional step of still looking up the address/e-mail/phone number, etc. provided in order to verify it is really them. If none of that is provided, then perhaps cross verify the paid posting with the job being listed on the company website. Finally, look up the company with an organization such as the Better Business Bureau, to assess its legitimacy.
• If the company making the posting is not familiar to you, then it is up to you to do some research prior to applying. This is where the internet comes in. A simple search of the company should allow you to verify address, phone number etc. Go farther than just verifying their existence by actually going on the site and reading about the company. Then, search for some of the items that you learned about this company, as you should be able to verify.
• You can also cross-reference the company with anyone who works for them by going on LinkedIn. Most recruiters and many managers will have a profile on the site. So, you can do a keyword search of the company name and look up people that work for them. Once you verify the posting, you may even want to reach out to these people to gather more information regarding the company. A company that does not have any employee presence on business social media should sound warning bells.
• Don’t send any personal information without first verifying the company and the posting as legitimate. Even then, you should have a questioning mentality regarding any personal information requests such as a Social Security Number prior to post-offer proceedings such as a background check. Similarly, no banking information should ever be requested outside of what is needed for direct deposit and that should be done after you have been hired.
• Finally, if it seems too good to be true, then it probably is. Your best assessment regarding legitimacy is your common sense…so use it!
A person looking for new employment is often in a vulnerable state of mind. Unfortunately, this creates a perfect scenario for criminals to try to take advantage of these people with phony job postings. While it will require additional time and effort on your end, there are some relatively simple things you can do to properly vet each job posting to make sure it is legitimate. By doing so, you will be able to clear your mind and focus on landing the new position.
As always, best of luck in your job search.
The following has been prepared for the general information of RochesterJobs readers. It is not meant to provide advice with respect to any specific legal or policy matter and should not be acted upon without verification by the reader.
Joe Stein
WNY Human Resources Professional
Feel free to contact Joe Stein regarding questions or comments at:
Joe Stein
