Too Good to Be True?

I got a call out of the blue from a woman who was offering me a job based on a résumé I had on Monster.com. She spoke really fast and I barely got the name of the company she was representing. It turns out she was from Bankers Life and Casualty Company. I had been searching for a job and had posted my résumé on Monster.com, the problem was that my résumé didn't have any banking experience or business training on it.

She told me she wanted me to come to an interview. "So you can get to know what the company is about", she said. She asked me what date and time would be good. Since she had called me so suddenly, I had to race to my calendar and look at my schedule. I was booked for the rest of the week. I tried to tell her I was busy but she was so adamant that she meet me that I finally agreed to come to an interview the very next day. I should have known right then that this wasn't a good idea.

Not only did I not have sufficient time to prepare for an interview, I didn't even know what company I was going to be interviewing or possibly working for.

She sent me a confirmation email, thanking me for "my interest in Bankers Life and Casualty Company" and that I was already completing the fist step of the application process. Since the email requested that I come in business attire I quickly rushed to Elite Repeat (after finding nothing at Target) and got a whole business suit together (for under $30!). When I came home I decided to do some research about the business so I wouldn't be completely clueless about the job.

I went to the company's website and saw that it was mainly about selling life insurance policies and annuities to seniors. Their profile boasted a growing job field and excellent customer service. I thought it looked pretty impressive. I started to wonder, what was a company like Bankers Life and Casualty Company (who mainly sell policies to seniors) doing in a college town like Chico? Since I had never heard of them I searched it on Google.

I found a site called Jobvent.com, a site where people can post their complaints or compliments about a job for other people to read. What I found was very disappointing and it immediately changed my mind about wanting to work for Bankers Life and Casualty Company. Their reviews about Bankers Life and Casualty Company can be found here: http://www.jobvent.com/companyBrowse.php?CompanyID=3810 .

Several people had complaints about the job, including how much time they wasted in a pyramid schemed job that took their commission cuts and gas money. Many people who worked in the job were unsatisfied and had left shortly after. It was when I read another post that mentioned a New York Times article called, "Aged, Frail and Denied Care by Their Insurers" by Charles Duhigg, (http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/26/business/26care.html) that I found out this job was a scam.

The article had several sources, mostly interviews from policy holders who were denied claims and interviews from employees of the company who later left or were dismissed from their jobs. A number of lawsuits have been filed against the company as well. This was not a company I wanted to work for. I called the phone number of Banker's Life and Casualty Company back and left a message saying I wouldn't be coming to their meeting and also to take my name, number and email off their list.

It was an unfortunate lesson for me to learn. Don't believe everything you see or hear at first, especially from a job offer that contacts you without you contacting them beforehand. I was glad I had done my research and avoided a potentially serious career mistake of getting myself trapped in a scam system that only benefits the people running it.

In these hard times, finding a job can be very difficult but it is especially hard not to get caught up in these easy gain jobs which may seem convenient and beneficial but will only leave you left behind or worse yet, trapped and in debt.

Here are some warning signs to look out for in a fraudulent job:

-They contact you first

-You're not qualified for the job they offer you

-They are aggressive

-You've never heard of their company

Here is another site that offers advice about bad jobs, on Wisebread.com, "6 Warning Signs that It Is Not the Job for You" by Linsey Knarl. http://www.wisebread.com/6-warning-signs-that-it-is-not-the-job-for-you .

These bad jobs usually have vague ads in newspapers week after week. They're also based on pyramid schemes where you have to work your way to the top and they're commissioned based, so you may not have any steady pay or benefits. They also have a high turn-over rate and often hire new recruits with no degree or job training.

Also, be very careful of jobs and interviews where they ask for personal information like your social security number or bank account information. Information like this is rarely given in a job and certainly not in an interview!

Another way to avoid these jobs is to Research! Look it up online or ask around. Chances are if no one's heard of the job-it doesn't exist!