How to Avoid Job Scams on Craig's List

If you sift through the job offers on Craig's list, you will notice that there are a lot of offers that seem so perfect you can't wait to send your resume out. Any job posting that claims that you can make 'X' amount of money, is not one you should get too excited about. A lot of these are just scams waiting to lure you in. For the most part, they will be a waste of time, or strictly commission based. No legitimate company will make promises. Most reputable businesses do not talk money until you go in for an interview or are offered the job.

The weird info-asking e-mail

There are some postings that will seem perfectly fine until you send that e-mail to them stating your case for being hired. Then they send an e-mail back to you asking you for your personal information. Be careful when you're replying to people like this. Until you have had an interview, no one has the right to ask you for your personal information like your address or social security number. They will ask you questions that seem a little out of the ordinary, and you should tread the water very carefully with these. If you're not sure about the people asking you these questions, you should avoid them at all costs.

If there's a link, avoid it

If you see a posting with no e-mail or contact in it, but there is a link to a website, you should avoid it. If they want to get you to a website, then most likely, the posting was not placed by the hiring company but instead by an affiliate who will get paid if you fill out a form or if you buy some sort of package. Sometimes a company will want you to check out there site so you can have a more in-depth idea of what their company does, but they should always provide some contact info attached to the post, always.

If there's a phone number be careful

Most businesses know that giving out their phone number on Craig's list is only going to lead to hundreds if not thousands of phone calls from job seekers. So if you see a phone number on a posting, you should be very careful about calling. One because it could be a shady company that has a lot of turnover and needs to pull more people in. Also, if you see a posting a few hours after it was up and it has a phone number on it then you should know that hundreds of people have already called that number. This issue depends a lot on your own judgment, so be careful.

If it sounds like a reputable company but uses gmail, avoid it

If you see a post that is well written and has all the proper elements of a reputable company but then you see they're using a gmail account, you should avoid it. Companies with a reputation and a name have their own e-mail servers and want to market themselves as much as possible. Gmail, though it is a good e-mail provider, is not a good representation of an actual business. So be careful when you're reading the postings that look perfect.

If you see the same e-mail for contrasting jobs, avoid it

If you see several different job postings, all with the same e-mail address, avoid it. Most hiring managers will use the Craig's list e-mail to keep in touch with job seekers, but when you see an actual e-mail and it is spread all across the website, you should avoid getting hooked into it.

If the ad is written in all capital letters, avoid it

This one is a no-brainer on an extreme level. An ad written in all caps, is unprofessional and not worth your time. Who ever wrote the ad is not serious about themselves and will most likely not take you seriously. If you are serious about yourself and your need for work, you should avoid any ad that is in all capitals. You will end up having to spend your own money for 'training' which you should never have to do if it's a legitimate job post.

Be sure you want commission only

A lot of the postings on Craig's list won't tell you off hand, but they only pay you commission for your work. Now some people are decent enough to state in their ad that they only pay commission. Be sure you know what you're getting yourself into. In this economy, you can't afford not to have a job, and it can be very disheartening when you think you've found something that fits you, only for it to turn out to be a scam. Being paid on commission is not the worse thing in the world, but it can be very unfulfilling and it is very hard to keep yourself positive at all times. Make sure you're ready and geared for it before you go to that interview, and be wary of the offers you get on Craig's list.