Know How To Easily Spot A Fake Job Advertisement

Trolling (in the context of job postings) is the intentional act of advertising a job opening that does not exist for the purpose of collecting resumes. 

Fake jobs undermine and devalue the search process, and unfortunately it’s becoming a bigger problem by the day. As more websites are created to aggregate job openings (meaning a website crawls other job boards and career pages to post on their own site) there is very little regulation on how jobs were sourced, when they originated, what firms authored the posting or even correct contact information parsing through to apply.

For many candidates, the job search process is already a daunting and sometimes frustrating task. Add on worrying about fake jobs, and folks start to lose hope. We want to help. Save time, money and energy while also protecting your privacy by learning how to spot a fake job advertisement.  

• Very little information about the job duties and requirements is outlined in the posting
• The job doesn’t mention the company (or recruiting firm’s) name or any links to their website or social media
• You’re taken to a third-party application portal that asks for personal information (SSN, home address, birthday, etc.)
• The job has been posted for over 6 months
• When you inquire for more information, over the phone or via email, you don’t receive any clarity or even a response back
• Compensation seems too good to be true
• You can’t find any verifiable information about the organization or employees
• It’s a bait and switch. For example, the ad shows full-time, W-2 employment and it turns out to be part-time and 1099.

There are exceptions to these rules. These are guidelines so you have a healthy skepticism of job advertisements that seem outside the norm. When it doubt call the company. Find someone in Human Resources or the Recruiter directly working with the employer to get more information.