BEWARE OF SCAMMERS, KIDNAPPERS AND TRAFFICKERS!
So I was having a casual chat with a friend and fellow job seeker, and she recounted to me of her ordeal at the hands of Kidnappers and how they almost robbed her of her possessions. These scammers pose as real Employers of labor, but are really looking for unassuming job seekers to fall into their traps and quickly fleece the seekers of their hard-earned cash, sometimes mortally harm or even kill them.
We all know the situation of securing a job in this country, as the parable of a camel going through the eye of the needle. So when a job seeker receives a notification via text, mail or call for a proposed interview, imagine such great feeling! Knowing someone is finally interested in employing him/her and seeing what he/she can offer with all his great untapped potentials; this is nothing but pure bliss to a job seeker’s soul. And this exactly, is what these bad eggs know too well and are using to their own advantage. They know an average job seeker would want to appear for this job interview by all means. And some of us seeking employments are so desperate to the extent of thinking about paying someone in the “supposed” company, as long as the job position becomes ours.
I was once a victim of these fiends, and I just thought it wise to let fellow seekers out there be on guard whenever they receive anything such as an SMS, call or mail for an interview from an unverified company.
I want to highlight some few things which I had taken note myself, and some which I learned from others which these people do to bring naive job seekers into their traps;
· - The SMS they send always bear an unfamiliar Company name.
· - They sometimes send e-mails asking for money to be paid into a certain bank account before an employment into a known establishment is given.
· - They call, demanding a person to appear for an interview in a company he knew well he or she didn’t apply for.
There are many other ways, which are not stated here, with which these outlaws perpetrate their evil acts. But I have also discovered the following safety steps which will, at least, checkmate their evil plots and prove the genuineness of any job interview notifications which you may receive in the future:
1. Know a bit about the Organization into which you’re applying, or may have applied into, and note the names down somewhere:
Trying to find out some crucial things about the Organization who is your potential employer is a must, if indeed you are really interested in getting a job. Nobody need to tell you that this is a very necessary first step to take when you receive an invitation for an interview. This other step may sound extremely simple or somehow foolish, but I bet, it will save you a whole lot of stress racking your brain, trying to remember if you had applied to a Company that had just notified you through mail or text message for an interview or not. If you have a written list or a sharp mental picture of all the Companies you knew quite well you had applied for, it will be so hard to fool you with a random text message or mail from an unverified organization which had just contacted you.
2. Check out the Company which had sent you a notification for an interview online, to see if they are indeed genuine:
Every “legit” company around the world now know better than not to have their own website, which displays their goods, crafts and services online. And this is a big advantage for every seeker to try and leverage on. Immediately I receive a notification of such informing me of a job offer with a company, I always do myself the due diligence of finding about the Organization in any online search engine to see if they are online, like the rest of the genuine pack.
Also, I try as much as possible to go to the popular online domains like Twitter, Nairaland, LinkedIn and Facebook to ask people online, just to verify the genuineness of the Company. People online, no matter how busy or uninterested they may seem, will always answer your genuine question trying to ascertain if an Organization is for real or not. Be careful before going for interviews, make sure carry out proper research on the Company, thank God for Nairaland (for Nigeria), they do post names of fake Companies. Try and do that too.
3. Check out the address of the Organization in person before the day of the interview or ask people in their area for confirmation:
This is a good way to get yourself prepared emotionally and psychologically, and at the same time get to see things from the ground and be sure if the Organization, which has called you, is the real deal or not. If the address of the Organization is not in your City, I will advise that you get someone in that area to help you check them out, it’s very important. But the best thing to do is to go there and see things for yourself. Whatever you plan to do, the best is always done, when you do it yourself.
4. Call your friends and relatives who you knew recently collected your resume (soft-copy or hard-copy) to confirm if they had applied for you somewhere:
If you are one of those fortunate to have had friends, family or relatives request for their resumes via email or by hand, because they wanted to help you apply somewhere they had seen a vacancy which might be needing your services, I will advise that you immediately put a call through to them and inquire if they had applied for you somewhere that you may not be aware of. This is also one of those loopholes which you will need to block and cover all your bases before either agreeing to or discarding this seemed opportunity which has come your way.
Finally, the only way to be secured is to think and act on security at all times. On the day you will be going for this interview, if you’ve checked them out and the Organization had passed these verification test I had highlighted, try as much as possible to keep your line on; a good phone with full battery. Let your loved ones know exactly whatever is going on per time, and try as much as possible to make sure the location you are getting interviewed for a job is known by friends and family.
Be safe at all times, I wish you a great interview out there, and good luck in getting the job!
P.S: You may also want to add to the suggestions which I have made here for the safety of job seekers out there, please kindly do into the suggestion box. You are appreciated. THINK SAFETY, LIVE SAFELY!
· - They sometimes send e-mails asking for money to be paid into a certain bank account before an employment into a known establishment is given.
· - They call, demanding a person to appear for an interview in a company he knew well he or she didn’t apply for.
There are many other ways, which are not stated here, with which these outlaws perpetrate their evil acts. But I have also discovered the following safety steps which will, at least, checkmate their evil plots and prove the genuineness of any job interview notifications which you may receive in the future:
1. Know a bit about the Organization into which you’re applying, or may have applied into, and note the names down somewhere:
Trying to find out some crucial things about the Organization who is your potential employer is a must, if indeed you are really interested in getting a job. Nobody need to tell you that this is a very necessary first step to take when you receive an invitation for an interview. This other step may sound extremely simple or somehow foolish, but I bet, it will save you a whole lot of stress racking your brain, trying to remember if you had applied to a Company that had just notified you through mail or text message for an interview or not. If you have a written list or a sharp mental picture of all the Companies you knew quite well you had applied for, it will be so hard to fool you with a random text message or mail from an unverified organization which had just contacted you.
2. Check out the Company which had sent you a notification for an interview online, to see if they are indeed genuine:
Every “legit” company around the world now know better than not to have their own website, which displays their goods, crafts and services online. And this is a big advantage for every seeker to try and leverage on. Immediately I receive a notification of such informing me of a job offer with a company, I always do myself the due diligence of finding about the Organization in any online search engine to see if they are online, like the rest of the genuine pack.
Also, I try as much as possible to go to the popular online domains like Twitter, Nairaland, LinkedIn and Facebook to ask people online, just to verify the genuineness of the Company. People online, no matter how busy or uninterested they may seem, will always answer your genuine question trying to ascertain if an Organization is for real or not. Be careful before going for interviews, make sure carry out proper research on the Company, thank God for Nairaland (for Nigeria), they do post names of fake Companies. Try and do that too.
3. Check out the address of the Organization in person before the day of the interview or ask people in their area for confirmation:
This is a good way to get yourself prepared emotionally and psychologically, and at the same time get to see things from the ground and be sure if the Organization, which has called you, is the real deal or not. If the address of the Organization is not in your City, I will advise that you get someone in that area to help you check them out, it’s very important. But the best thing to do is to go there and see things for yourself. Whatever you plan to do, the best is always done, when you do it yourself.
4. Call your friends and relatives who you knew recently collected your resume (soft-copy or hard-copy) to confirm if they had applied for you somewhere:
If you are one of those fortunate to have had friends, family or relatives request for their resumes via email or by hand, because they wanted to help you apply somewhere they had seen a vacancy which might be needing your services, I will advise that you immediately put a call through to them and inquire if they had applied for you somewhere that you may not be aware of. This is also one of those loopholes which you will need to block and cover all your bases before either agreeing to or discarding this seemed opportunity which has come your way.
Finally, the only way to be secured is to think and act on security at all times. On the day you will be going for this interview, if you’ve checked them out and the Organization had passed these verification test I had highlighted, try as much as possible to keep your line on; a good phone with full battery. Let your loved ones know exactly whatever is going on per time, and try as much as possible to make sure the location you are getting interviewed for a job is known by friends and family.
Be safe at all times, I wish you a great interview out there, and good luck in getting the job!
P.S: You may also want to add to the suggestions which I have made here for the safety of job seekers out there, please kindly do into the suggestion box. You are appreciated. THINK SAFETY, LIVE SAFELY!
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