Job Search Tips: How One Can Identify Job Scams

With the high rate of unemployment job scams have become more common. This is because the people behind them know that job seekers are desperate and end up taking advantage of that.

While some job seekers were keen enough to query some jobs are genuine, some don’t take as much precaution.

There have been numerous scams recently form people claiming to be Action Aid, African Reproductive Health Initiative among others, where they went tot the extent of creating a fake website similar to that of the real organisation.

Why Do Job Seekers Keep Falling Prey To Job Scams?

In an interview with Citizen TV, Perminus Wainaina, a Recruitment Consultant and CEO at Corporate Staffing Services says Kenyans are becoming more desperate to get jobs, which becomes a base for these job scams and professions with very large numbers are even more affected.

“Scammers will go for professions with a lot of job seekers, such as, Admin and Accounts because they know they will capitalize on the numbers.

They also choose popular organisations that people want to work for like NGO’s and multinationals.

They will also use the same channels genuine recruitment firms and companies use to advertise jobs, that is newspapers, websites and social media pages so job seekers need to be very careful, says Perminus, also noting that churches are another platform that job scams will be propagated to reach a large number of job seekers.

Most Kenyans have developed the culture of having to pay to get services as well as get a job. This is why most people do not think twice before paying the amount asked for by the scammers.

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How Can One Identify A Job Scam?

1. You will always be asked for money

Most of the job scams will ask you to pay a certain amount of money after you make your application in order for you to get the job.

As a job seeker you should never pay anything to get a job. No legitimate organisation will ask you to pay cash no matter how little it seems. Any expense needed to complete the recruitment process should be met by the employer.

So do not be fooled into sending money for insurance, uniform, psychometric tests etc.

2. If the deal is too good to be true, be wary

Another way to spot job scams is when you come across job advertisement offering extravagant salaries and benefits and require little to no experience whatsoever.

Before applying for that internship opportunity promising to pay you 70K, you need to do proper research to ensure it is legitimate.

Salaries are usually given based on experience therefore the more extravagant the amount for entry level positions the more wary you need to be.

3. Take note of the source

Most job scams are advertised on the same platforms as legitimate jobs and it is therefore very important to ensure that you be vigilant when applying for jobs.

To be safe, if you happen to doubt the legitimacy of a certain job advert it is important to check with the organisation or the source of the advert. This mostly works with websites, because they posted the job they will be willing to investigate and tell you whether it is legitimate or not.

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4. Always use Google in your job search

Google is your best friend during your job search. When you come across a job you doubt, you should Google the organisation to try and see if even exists and if it can be trusted.

Some scammers even go as far as creating a fake website identical to the original one so you need to be very vigilant.

Conducting a search is also important because you might come across a discussion on the legitimacy of the job which will help you avoid being scammed.

While it may be frustrating that you are not finding opportunities or your applications are not bearing any fruit, don’t choose the easy way out. If someone is asking you for money promising to give you a job, something is clearly wrong.

Consult with genuine recruitment firms on the issues you are having in your job search and what you can do to better your chances for jobs. Stay vigilant and avoid being a victim of job scams.