Beware Of Job Fraud Scams!

April 27th, 2009

Searching for a job can be difficult enough, but when you finally spot the ‘job of a lifetime’ – just consider that if the job sounds too good to be true – quite likely, it is!

Imagine the job of “Designer - Developer/Applications/IT” with a tax-free salary of $120K for 6 months work.

Perks including Paid Overtime at $300 per hour, paid first-class accommodation, $3,000.00 flat rate travel/entertainment allowance for every intercontinental trip, free comprehensive healthcare, two weeks of paid vacation, a free laptop computer and free transportation/vehicle.

WOW!!! – Where do I sign up???

This is just one of the many recent postings on Monster.com – other jobs with the same salary and benefits are also available – including:

* Project Manager - Project/Infrastructure/IT
* Analyst - Systems/Support/IT
* Technical Advisor - Computer/Security/IT
* Analyst - Data Manager/IT/

Sometimes the scams are easy to spot – other times it can be more difficult. Quite often the job titles and job descriptions are often stolen from other legitimate employment sites.

You may be able to enter a snippet of the job description in double-quotes and find the original source through your favorite search engine.

For example, the position I mentioned earlier contained the text “(C++, Java, HTML, PHP, Visual Basic)” in the job description.

Search for this in Google (including the double-quotes) and you’ll quickly see how often this exact string has been used in scam-related job postings.

These companies (more likely individuals) have absolutely no intention of hiring you – they are simply after the “Administration Fee” you need to send in advance.

Here is an example of some terms on a recent posting on monster.com:

You are liable to make charges of about USD$950.00 for the procurement of your working and residential permit documents which covers:

1, Administrative charges:
2, Diplomatic Courier Charges:
3, Working Permit charges:
4, Residential Permit charges:
5, Hard copies of the terms:

They promise reimbursement of fees and travel expenses to attend the interview, but only AFTER you’ve shown up for the job and discovered they never existed!

In addition to money sent to the fraudsters in advance — you could be suckered in for airfare, hotel and thousands of dollars in other expenses.

Some obvious clues that should send up bright red warning flags:

* The job is in Nigeria, or posted on behalf of a Nigerian company. Quite often the jobs are IT-related in companies involved with oil, banking or mining.

* The contact is using @hotmail.com or some other free email service. Legitimate offers generally come from legitimate companies with real email addresses.

* The telephone number is a fake. Don’t even try to call. Most often, if the number even works at all, it leads to a mobile phone in Nigeria or a similar country. Check the country code before calling and see if it matches the company’s address (if they even provide one).

* Beware of requests for detailed personal information, such as a copy of your passport, birth certificate, SSN card and so forth. This trick is used to make the application more ‘real’ but if they can’t sucker you on the ‘application fee’ – they may just sell or use your identity instead.

* Quite often, there will be many errors in the references, spelling and/or grammar. Here is another example:

“You are to receive the hard copies of the contract terms and agreement and also your working and residential permit altogether, it will be delivered through Diplomatic Courier Services(DHL) to your various designated addresses respectively.”

Do a Google search for “Diplomatic Courier Services(DHL)” and you will again see dozens of listings discussing or exposing the scam.

There are many variations to this new type of scam. Currently, IT professionals seem to be the major target. Monster.com and Monster’s country-specific sites have become the hot target for these scamsters.

Although Monster does remove bogus job postings fairly quickly, the process to complain about them is difficult and time-consuming.

In many online job boards, there is no ‘filtering’ or human review process for job postings — otherwise such fraudulent listings would be need to be much more difficult. Many job boards also allow free postings for advertisers — making them even more attractive for scammers.

The important thing to remember is that few legitimate employers will ask for fees of any kind up-front – in fact, many employers will pay for your travel expenses in advance.

Don’t let the job of your dreams become a financial nightmare – be cautious when dealing with any business you can not easily identify or verify. Best of luck on your job search!

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What is in it for me the Jobbers? Job Seekers

April 21st, 2009

http://www.gorecroot.com is an intelligent, global, multiple sector, jobs to resume sourcing and mapping engine. GoRecroot’s multi dimensional, multi media (images, voice, video and text-data) and mobile enabled.  Powered by custom algorithms and cognitive search sciences, GoRecroot brings the recrooters (recruiters) and the jobbers (job seekers) to actionable results in short spans of time and exponential savings.

GoRecroot has specialized feature sets for:
1. Recruiters, placement consultants, Corporate HR, staffing agencies :Recrooters
2. Job seekers, candidates, job applicants : Jobbers
3. HR branding specialized web products : for corporates, recrooters, agencies
4. Job position and resume referrers :   Agents
5. We bring global recrooters together
6. You have your best shot here
7. Photo resumes, Voice resumes, Video resumes
Specialized products for you to target opportunities and choose your career path
• Mobile integration
Comprehensive job search features
• Mobile and SMS alerts
• Custom resume creation wizard
• Powerful multi dimensional job search
• Tell a friend contests

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Seven Music Related Jobs In UK Business

March 12th, 2009

The music scene is alive and well - thriving even - in the UK. While there are thousands of artists dreaming of their big break, the music industry offers far more to the job hunter than the life of a performer. All those bands and singers and musicians need a support framework, after all. If you’re a music lover looking for music related jobs in UK companies, there’s no lack of positions open to you. Here are just ten music related jobs in UK production, broadcasting and media that are in demand.

Music Publicist
Someone has to get the word out about new music. A music publicist works with the media to be sure that artists are getting publicity to boost sales of their music and their value to a recording label.

Label Manager
A label manager works for a recording company and facilitates the releases of new music by artists recording for a particular label. In this music related job in UK recording, you’ll be working as a liaison between the various departments of the recording company to make sure that all the details are covered for a smooth release of CDs and digital singles.

Management Assistant
No matter what the industry, there’s always a need for management assistants to deal with daily administrative duties from filing invoices to setting up interviews and hotel rooms for touring artists to updating the company website. It may not sound like the most exciting music related job in UK industry, but it’s a great entry level job that will get your foot in the door. In many companies, management assistants easily move into other positions because of their experience in the music business.

Digital Research Analyst
Music companies have always employed market analysts to follow the latest trends in music and help position the company’s artists and assets to best ride the wave to success. The digital revolution rings in new changes nearly every day, and the market analyst position is giving way to a digital analyst who keeps a finger on the pulse of the market, analyzes new technology and emerging trends and forecasts the implications for the company’s products. The position requires experience and skill both in the music industry and in management.

Online Editorial Manager
In today’s digital age, an Internet presence is a total necessity for any music company. In addition to publicists, managers and PR people, there are music related jobs in UK media companies that focus on web production. From producing copy for artist profiles and stories to creating new media presentations for streaming and downloading, there are jobs for music professionals with web and digital experience.

Junior Events Producer
Live events are the heart of the music industry. From creating a schedule to ensuring that all the guests arrive on time to deciding on the invitation list so that all the right media are including, the events producer plays a key role. Junior events producers work under an events producer helping to manage aspects of the planning and execution of live events.

Intern
Internships at recording studios, radio stations and event venues are an excellent way to get to know the music industry and make valuable contacts. While the pay for an internship may be low, interns often have the chance to work on exciting projects as they learn. And in at least one recent survey, over 90% of companies who use interns say that they often hire on an intern full time when the internship period has ended.

There are many more music related jobs in UK companies, ranging from clerical work to throwing parties. If you’re looking for music related jobs in the UK, you’ll find many specialty web sites specifically for jobs in the entertainment and music business.

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Building Your Resume Online

February 15th, 2009

Online employment websites provide all sorts of job postings for individuals.  You can visit their site, see a job that fits with your specific qualifications, apply and be hired, most of which can happen right through the web.  Yet, it is rarely as quick or as simple as that.  Often, there is much more completion for the job on the web then there are in your local area.  Nevertheless, there are many more opportunities available too.  One way to benefit from this site and get the edge is to build your resume online.

Resumes are the way the employer sees you.  It is your first impression.  It is what they are likely to hold in their hand and decide if you will get a call or if the trash bin is where your resume is headed.  In person, you can hand this resume to them, easily making the first impression in person.  When applying for jobs online, though, you must give them more than a job application to go with.  You need to have a resume online to send and it has to be the winning one as well.

What Online Job Sites Offer

One of the key benefits to working with an online employment websites is that you can easily build and then store your resume right on their site.  This allows you to easily access it any time that you need to send out your resume.  In addition, it allows you the tools, professional services and even helpful tips to making sure that resume is the very best option that it can be.  In short, it prepares you for success in finding your next job online.

To use these building services, pick a online site that provides them.  You can build your over letter, a standard application and the resume itself right online.  You can upload your current resume or work through the process of creating a professional resume through their site and services.

Take a few minutes now to find the right online job site for you.  Then, tap into their resume services.  There are a number of different choices that you have and you can of course use as many as you need to.  It is easy to have a professional quality resume in this way.

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10 Tips For Online Job Applications: Tips 6-10

January 7th, 2009

Tip 6: Don’t assume that the person reading the application will be familiar with acronyms or even familiar with the position. They may be from HR and not wholly familiar with the post, so try to use easily read, clear English.

Tip 7: Always make your application read as if it has been written by someone who is very polite and not arrogant. Arrogance can really deter some employers: not everyone is looking for a wicked sales rep!

Tip 8: Whilst it is acceptable to elaborate on past successes, do not lie on your application form. Make sure that you simply are honest : many employers value honesty and trustworthiness above having 10 years experience.

Tip 9: Always check that your referees are aware that you are submitting their names for referees, before submitting the application form. Otherwise you may put them in a difficult position, especially if you have submitted their telephone details.

Tip 10: Don’t be tempted to think that the job is automatically yours, so you still need to use the application to sell yourself. Look at the skills, attributes and experience that they want and line up your skills, attributes etc against these: then demonstrate how you fulfil the criteria!

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