Beware of scams! Joyce’s Career Tip of the Week

I want to welcome everyone back to campus and wish you a Happy New Year!

It’s time to start getting ready for the spring recruiting season. Employers are currently registering for the Fulton Schools Career Fair next month. In the near future, we will be posting the schedule of career fair prep presentations and rapid résumé reviews. It is also time to update, not only your résumé, but your profiles in Handshake and LinkedIn as well.

Employers are using websites, job boards, social media and email to post information about opportunities and to find talent. Unfortunately, scammers are using these tools too. As you are enthusiastically seeking internships and jobs, be sure to take steps to ensure that you will not become a victim.

Beware of job offers that sound too good to be true (they probably are). Be suspicious of a job offer that comes before you have filled out a formal application and have had a serious, specific, job-related interview. Never send money to cover expenses of visas, training, and background and credit checks. The employer usually covers these items. Poor grammar, multiple typographical errors and a general lack of professionalism are red flags. Be suspicious of emails from free personal accounts (yahoo, gmail, hotmail), rather than from company email addresses.

What are some of the things that you can do? Research the company. You should be able to find a website, a physical address for the company and the names of owners and/or executives. Use the research database, Mergent Intellect (on the ASU Library website), the Better Business Bureau and the Federal Trade Commission as sources of information. Use LinkedIn to find company employees.

Some of these imposters will pretend to be a legitimate or well-known company by sending emails that look real. Examine the email addresses carefully and compare them to what you can find on the actual company website. If you are in doubt, contact the company for verification. Finally, if after doing all of these things, you are still unsure, reach out to one of us — peer career coaches or professional staff members of the Fulton Schools Career Center. We are here to help you.

 

Joyce Donahue is a Certified Career Counselor who works in the Fulton Schools Career Center.