Don’t misunderstand. As the internet has been rising in technology and communication all over the world, the ability to look for a job online has been a truly priceless commodity for the workforce. Try sending resumes to 15 different companies in less than an hour without the power of the internet; unless you’re Superman, it’s not possible. Be careful with these job searching sites, though.
Why? Because it affords many opportunities for scamming. You see, when you send out a resume, you’re sending it to an address–an address that can be checked, verified, even visited. Online, it’s a different story. With the power of e-mail, literally anyone can post a job online without needing to worry about addresses or phone numbers. E-mail is so open-ended that virtually anyone around the world can post a job and say right on the post that they’re based out of Oklahoma or something like that, and you’d never know the difference. It makes searching the job sites sort of scary at times.
The trick is to know the scams when you see them. Language matters. If someone writes a post, and all you see are words in capital letters, bad grammar, lack of credentials, known name (a searchable business name, either in the yellow pages or online search). Guarantees are a big red flag, too. There’s not one legitimate job application out there that can guarantee anything more than an interview. You see anything else like a guaranteed salary that looks somewhat ambiguous, you’re being fooled. Don’t be a fool. Moreover, certain industries are also unfortunately littered with scams–such as direct marketing, modeling, even literary. If you’ve written a book and are dealing with a literary agent that requires a fee, don’t deal with that agent; he or she is scamming you, plain and simple.
Tread carefully when you look for a job, any job, online. Because it’s a dangerous jungle out there. You never know what bear trap you might run into.