Beware of Creepy Job Postings

I saw a posting for a position before I moved to Tyler, TX on a job search website that seemed perfect for me. It allowed me to work from home for the corporate department of a furniture company. I replied to the post and received an e-mail that requested some personal information that one doesn't typically find in a job application. An alarm went off in my head and I went back to the job posting. I researched the company online and found that the company name was indeed legitimate, however, it stated that their company only served states on the east coast. "Why was a job being posted for Texas?," I thought to myself. I contacted the HR department of the company and was told that the job posting was false and should be removed immediately. Lesson learned- do your homework before responding to a job posting!

If it sounds like it is "too good to be true," then it very well may be. There are often times false opportunities that slip through the cracks on job search websites. Despite efforts to screen employers that register to post positions on job search engines, some will still get past the security measures in place and post a position that is not real.

Some indications that a position is a scam:

• Information that is sensitive in nature or typically kept private is being asked for in an "application"
• You search for the organization/company online and nothing comes up (or a suspicious website with no contact information/an employer that doesn't serve the area you are applying for comes up in the results) 
• Do you homework thoroughly to really make sure that the employer is real and that the actual company that the posting is claiming to be for is hiring
• The "employer" sends you a check in the mail without any training or job tasks performed (often times a percentage of the money is requested back)
• In general, the "employer" is offering money without training for the position

If you ever notice a suspicious job posting on Patriot Jobs, please notify our office immediately so that we can take care of the problem. Sometimes scams can be tricky, just because you noticed a red flag, doesn't mean that everyone else will. :-)

-Bridget Hopp, Career Advisor