How to Avoid Job & Internship Scams

Have you ever just taken any job or internship opportunity you received without second thought? You might be wondering, "What is there to think about? If you want to make money or gain work experience, you just apply, go to the interview, and take the job."

It sounds simple enough, right? But many don't realize the consequences of jumping on every opportunity they come across. I'm going to give you a couple of things to be mindful about the next time you go job hunting or go looking for internships.

1. Make sure the jobs & internships you take don't seem suspicious.

Avoid jobs and internships that schedule interviews past business hours. Most offices are closed by 5pm every day and closed on the weekends. If you found a job opening and got an interview at 6am on a Saturday, don't go! It's a scam.
Watch out for jobs that send you checks before you work. You get paid after you work and if you cash that check, your bank account will close.
Don't go with listings that sound too good to be true. It's unlikely you'll get paid $10,000 a week by doing a simple task, don't fall for it.

2. Be weary of Craigslist.

While there are a lot of sketchy ads on Craigslist and the job listings aren't always promising. You can use these alternatives:

Go to the Career Development Center at C-102. Ask for job and internship opportunities that have been approved by school and deemed safe for students to apply for.
Go on trustworthy websites. Examples are Indeed, Glassdoor, WayUp, and Internships.com

3. Do background checks.

Many jobs & internships are startups that many haven't heard of, while some companies are fake. To avoid walking into a dangerous situation, you can follow these tips:

Google the location. If the company address leads to something other than the business (such as an abandoned building), that's when you know it's a scam.
Do research on the company. Check whether there's information on the company, such as reviews, company social media, or pages on their founding members.
Check with the Career Center at school. They can verify whether a job or internship is trustworthy.

-Amanda Blando

Comments

DEI & The Workplace

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), is a broad term that covers the issues of equality in the United States. It existed throughout the years, trying to advocate for equality amongst individuals regardless of their race, sex, or religion. Thi helps foster respect and equality in every sector of the society, ensuring that as long as a person is a citizen of the United States, they are allowed to receive the same benefits as others. In the workplace, DEI is very essential as it ensures that people are hired based on the fact that they meet the qualifications of the position they applied for, and not discriminated against by not qualifying them for unknown reasons even if they reach all other qualifications. Below are a few important reasons for DEI in the workplace: 1. The Workplace Should Reflect Today’s Emerging Workforce: Social change has historically often led to backlash, but that isn’t necessarily a good reason to retreat or pivot away from one’s DEI mandate. Today’s emerg...

To Wear or Not To Wear?: Tips on dressing for success

So, the first step is over. You finished filling out the application for the job; listing all of your work experience, answering numerous questions about your work ethic on an online questionnaire, and you even polished up your hand dandy resume! After restless nights of worrying, you finally get a call saying they would love to have you come in for an interview: now what? First, don't panic ! Finding an appropriate outfit can be intimidating, but with the help of Google it is possible. Second, the outfit you should wear is based on what type of position you are going for or what your potential company is. If it's a store like Macy's, for example, it would make sense for you to wear all black since that's the kind of uniform the employees wear. If you're working in an office setting, then you should go either business casual or professional. When in doubt of what to wear, go with business casual! Here are a few images of what business casual and professional ou...

Career Roadmap

A career roadmap is a strategic plan and long-term approach to career planning that provides an outline for an individual's career goals, steps needed to achieve them, and ways to manage your achievement. Creating a career roadmap has a lot of benefits, as it shows an outline that helps you navigate your professional journey, including the necessary skills, experiences and milestones to progress. Below are a few benefits of creating a career map, both to the individual and to an organization. For individuals: 1. Clarity and Direction: A career roadmap provides a clear path forward, outlining your aspirations and the steps needed to achieve them. 2. Goal Setting and Motivation: It helps you set concrete, measurable goals, keeping you motivated and focused on your professional development. 3. Skill Development: By identifying skills and competencies needed for desired roles, it helps you focus your learning and development efforts, enhancing your marketability. 4...

Search This Blog