It is not just the classified section of newspaper that carry fake jobs. A quarter page advertisement recently appeared in a leading Hindi daily. The prominent advertisement carried information about a social sector organisation funded by international agency. It sought applications for a number of jobs at different levels starting from block to the state level. The salaries offered were above market rates and qualification required were such that most candidates would consider themselves eligible. A detailed process of application was prescribed which was to be followed by a written test and interviews. There was obviously a small detail of application fee payable through Demand Draft.

Beware of Job Scams

To a trained eye, the advertisement looked fishy from the first instance. But for thousands of unsuspecting candidates there is no way of knowing, until it is too late. Some of the important questions whose answer candidates should seek before applying for such jobs are given below:

1. Find out about the company that seeks to offer employment. How old is it? How many people does it currently employ? Search its website, Google search for any information about the company, speak to someone who knows about the Company etc..

2. Sometimes fraud is conducted using names of well known companies too. Try to find whether the advertisement is connected to the original company or not. Look for the name/log and compare the original company name/logo from earlier newspaper/ website. Check whether Emails use the company’s official domain name.

3. A demand for money at any stage – application, written test, interview, appointment letter, security deposit – should start the alarm bells ringing (with the exceptions of Government and Public sector jobs, many of which still insist on application fee) . Keep in mind that no good Private sector company would ask for money from candidates.

On the other end of the spectrum, a few candidates themselves walk into job scams with open eyes. They are ready to pay bribe for landing a job and they only cry foul if the promised job does not matérialise. It is advisable to stay away from such hoaxes. Please keep in mind that private jobs unlike Government job are not permanent and may even be terminated if wrong doing is discovered later. In case of jobs, if it is too good to be true, it is probably false.