Job searching is already frustating enough on its own, but it can be even worse when scammers are involved. There are some out there who will post bogus job advertisements, in order to deceieve jobseekers who think they're applying for a regular job.
Unfortunately, the internet is exactly where these type of sham companies and fake jobs seem to thrive. But how can you tell whether a job advertisement is legitimate or fake? Here are some red flags that may point towards a job being a scam.
1) No experience required and "high salary"
No experience required, and earning a salary of up to £45k a year? Sign me up!
If this is something you see on a job description, then avoid avoid avoid because this kind of advertisement has "fake" written all over it. You'll find that the "amazing opportunity" advertising this salary for not even an ounce of experience, will actually be offering no such thing.
An example of this would be pyramid scheme jobs, something that's still ongoing within the UK and worldwide. They'll lead you to believe that you'll be making that much within a year, but in reality the money you'll be making will be made purely through comission. So sure, you could potentially earn £45k annually, but only if you get lucky on sales.
2) They contact you first
Sometimes, you won't find these sort of jobs on your own. Rather, they'll contact you about an "unmissable opportunity", and claim to have found you online through a job board you've never used, or haven't used in years.
In some cases, they'll even claim that they're coming back to you on an application you supposedly made for their company. In this case, the best thing to do would be to look through all your recent job applications and see if the company's name is present. If not, then that could be a potential warning sign.
3) The employer's identity is not clear
If you don't have a clear indication of who the employer is, then this could be another warning sign. For example, if the only contact is an email address through a service such as Hotmal and Gmail rather than a company email.
In this case, you should ensure to ask and verify the name of the person who contacted you as well as the employer.
4) You get the job with a minimal or even no interview at all
Minimal interviews can be easily done through online messaging but in some cases, they'll claim they didn't need to interview you at all and decide to hire you there and then. Real employers will hold interviews for every candidate, and wouldn't hire somebody on the spot without one, regardless of how impressive their CV is.
5) A payment is required
Real employers will never charge to hire you - scammers will. For example, before you are hired, you are required to pay for certain supplies or "special training" by the employer. This is a sure sign that a job is a scam, as candidates should never be required to pay a penny to the employer, especially during the hiring stage.
So, how can you avoid becoming victim to a job scam? The answer is simple - research. Research the company's website (if they have one), look them up on Google (and maybe add "scam" next to the name to see if you can find any reports) and check scam lists. Find out as much as you can about the company in question before you apply to them.
Also, you should always remember that if something looks too good to be true, it most likely is.