Recruitment is an important function that every business should undertake. It helps them find the right person to fill up their manpower needs. However, the recruitment process can become overwhelming for your in-house team. This is where a recruitment provider can help you find the right candidate for certain positions in your organization. According to statistics from Allied Market Research, recruitment process outsourcing or RPO is projected to reach $26.4 billion by 20311 at a CAGR of 19.1% from 2022 to 2031.
But just like in any industry, you will encounter some bad apples. They have no intention to help you but they are only after your money. 67% of people look for jobs online but are unaware of fake jobs or scams they are at risk of. Thus, you need to learn how to identify these bad apples and nip them in the bud right away. In this article, we look at the signs that your recruitment provider is a fraud.
How To Spot A Fraud Recruitment Provider
- They Ask You For Money
- They Request Unnecessary Information
- They Hired You Without An Interview
- They Avoid Job-Related Questions
- Their Offer Is Too Good To Be True
- They Send Emails From A Free Account
- They Only Use Text and Online Chats
How To Spot A Fraud Recruitment Provider
Recruitment fraud is on the rise. Reports from the Federal Trade Commission revealed that victims lost $250 million in the first three quarters of 2022. These fraudsters utilize different techniques to have their way. Here are some of the most common recruitment scams.
1. They Ask For Money
A recruitment provider should never ask you for money in order to get hired. Whether it’s a recruitment agency or an individual, you should never be asked to pay a sum of money by the recruitment company. In fact, it is the hiring organization that will pay the recruiter, not you. So if the recruiter asks you for money, especially in the early stages of recruitment, stay away from that recruiter.
When you ask them why you need to make a payment, they will tell you that they will need to set up your equipment. Legit employers will not require you to pay an application or training fee while you are still applying. Some roles with international travel may require you to pay a placement fee but you should not pay them yet until you have signed an offer letter and the onboarding process has begun.
There are also recruiting firms that will ask you to open a bank account and provide them with the details or direct you to a website where you will fill out a credit report form. In addition, you should never be asked to transfer money before the recruitment process even begins. If you encounter this type of recruiter, you can report it to the police or to the Better Business Bureau.
2. They Request Unnecessary Information
Just as requesting money during the application process is not allowed, so is asking for unnecessary information. Sensitive information like social security number, date of birth, or personal documents should never be required during the interview process. The only time they will ask for it is after you are hired and signed a contract. If they send an email asking for personal information, it might be a phishing attempt.
Recruiters may ask for your contact information, contact details, an updated resume, character references, and salary expectations. Eventually, they may ask for your bank account information but not during the initial meeting or interview. If they do ask for such information, they will clearly state the reason for doing so.
If a recruiter asks you to fill out a form, always check that the website is coming from a secured website. Check the address bar. If the URL starts with HTTP, it is not secure. It should start with HTTPS for it to be secure. Recruiters want to check your resume and skills, not your date of birth or social security number.
3. They Hired You Without An Interview
The point of conducting an interview is for the recruiter to determine your skills and capabilities. It helps them assess whether you are really fit for the job. It will help them get to know you better. However, if the recruiter goes on to hire you without the benefit of an interview, that is something you should be wary of.
While they may conduct an online job interview, it will be from an unfamiliar or unsecured messaging platform. Through the platform, the recruiter will be able to obtain your details and use them for any purpose. It is recommended that you check the software or website that you are invited to sign up on.
Legitimate companies will not send out job offers without conducting an interview first. If you know that you did not apply for a position but got a job offer out of nowhere. Also, they should contact you using their company landline.
4. They Avoid Job-Related Questions
It is easy to spot a recruiter that is spamming. When you ask them a question related to the job you are applying for, they will avoid answering it as much as possible. In addition, the job description could be lacking. They would not provide as many details as possible. If they cannot provide satisfactory answers to your questions, it could only mean that they are not who they claim they are.
Job-related questions can help you decide whether the role you are applying for is the right one. However, if the interviewer evades your questions or does not respond to your questions, they are most likely hiding important information about the role. While genuine recruiters may not be allowed to disclose the name of the client they should still be knowledgeable about the industry and disclose as much information about the position as possible.
Sometimes the recruiter may only have the basic information to screen candidates. Even then, then, they should not be evasive or hesitant. Instead, they should be honest and tell you that they do not know the answer. They should not make up information just to satisfy the candidate.
5. Their Offer Is Too Good To Be True
There is an old saying which goes, “If it is too good to be true, it probably is.” When the recruiter tells you that the job you are applying for does not require previous experience or has shorter working hours with a great salary is most likely a scam. Scam recruiters will write appealing job descriptions to convince people to provide information.
Fake recruiters will offer a candidate a salary that is higher than the industry standard. On top of that, they will include tempting rewards in the package that will increase their chances of falling to their tricks. If the company says that you do not need to be interviewed or there is no need for a background check, chances are it isn’t true.
We all dream of the perfect job but it is not all the time that you can find such. To avoid being scammed, always make sure that you have knowledge of what your job entails, the salary, and the corresponding benefits.
6. They Send Emails From A Free Account
Legitimate recruiters will usually use a job board or social media platform to get in touch with candidates instead of their personal email addresses So what’s wrong with that? While the email may seem legitimate, it could include other tell-tale signs of a scam like a poorly written email, grammatical errors, or spelling mistakes. Aside from that, it could include suspicious attachments or links that contain malware and capture sensitive information such as login credentials, card details, phone numbers, or account numbers.
A legitimate recruiter will send email correspondences from their company’s domain. Communicating with candidates using the appropriate email address will help create a good first impression. It would be a good idea to always check if the email you are receiving is authentic. Also, verify the identity of the sender before responding or providing the information they need.
Recruiters will always use branded email addresses. Anything that comes from suspicious email addresses should be verified. If they are sending emails from addresses like Gmail or Yahoo, make sure that it is associated with a verified employee. Otherwise, open with caution as it may be a trick.
7. They Only Use Text and Online Chats
Advancement in technology has made it possible for businesses to conduct job interviews through different channels. In the past, job interviews were conducted either face-to-face or over the phone. Nowadays, chat and text interviews have become popular but sometimes for the wrong reasons. Most recruitment scams happen via text or online chats.
Legitimate companies will not reach out to job applicants unless you have applied on the company website and opted to receive text messages. This is also applicable to chat platforms. Although online chat has become part of the interview process, it is not usually during the entire application and interview process.
In chat interview scams, the scammer tries to get the job seeker to divulge personal information in the form of an interview for a position in the company. The scammer will post as an employer and contact an applicant through chat platforms like Hangout, Skype, Yahoo Messenger, and others. That is why you should do your homework before clicking on a link or accepting an invitation.
When applying for a job or role, always trust your instincts. If you suspect that the recruiter is up to no good, you are probably right. Always do your homework and research about a company so you will not be victimized by a scammer. You can always check the company website.
Find The Right Employee with airisX
Recruiting new employees for your team is a notoriously time-consuming process. Hiring an external outsourcing provider like airisX allows you to remove yourself from the tediousness of having to go through hundreds of resumes and bad interviews to find the right candidate that meets the criteria of the employee you are looking for, allowing you to focus on what matters in the recruiting process – doing the final interview for the right candidate, and making the final hiring decision.