Four Unemployment Frustrations - Part 2

Before I became unemployed, I would have expected that losing my job would also remove a large number of the frustrations of my daily life. The reality is that while I definitely have less stress in my current state, my previous frustrations have simply been replaced by new ones. This series of posts examines my top four unemployment frustrations. For Part 1 see here.

My second frustration is the amount of job-search-related Spam/Scams I receive.

Every time I update my resume or profile on one of the big career sites, I get a new wave of job search spam, most of it sounding like a scam of some kind. It seems there are a lot of people out there trying to take advantage of the unemployed. A few examples of the blatant spam/scams I've received:

• Interview offers from companies I have not applied to. I get legitimate versions of these from time to time - a recruiter finds my resume on a job board and emails or calls to see if I would be a good match for a position they're working to fill. The difference is that a legitimate recruiter always sends a job description and asks if the position is something I'm interested in before attempting to arrange an interview, usually by phone first. The spam version gives little to no information about the actual position and wants to set up an in-person interview right away. The best I can tell is these are the type of scam where I would have to pay them for something in order to do the job and the "interview" they want to set up is really a sales session where they try to convince me that I need to buy their client list for $299 or whatever.
• Job offers from companies I have not applied to. These usually have multiple warning signs that they're not legitimate - they're offering you the position without any interview or screening process whatsoever; they don't tell you the name of their organization; they don't tell you what the job is; the salary is too good to be true.
• Emails telling me about this great other job site that I should sign up for. These are obviously data mining schemes, hoping I'll type in all my personal data so they can sell it. Although, I have run into some similar sites whose business model seems to be selling "premium" membership. This second type is more likely to advertise on legitimate job boards, rather than send emails, however.
• Emails offering to find me a job for a fee. I don't get a lot of these, but I have gotten a couple. I've been in the HR business long enough to know that legitimate recruiters get paid by the company whose position they've filled, not by the candidate.

It bothers me that so many people and organizations are trying to take advantage of people looking for a job. Sure, I’m savvy enough to recognize that these are scams and hit the delete key, but even I second guess myself sometimes, wondering if maybe I’m being overly suspicious and hurting my chances by deleting what could turn out to be good leads. Of course, when I second guess myself, I google the company or person who sent me the email and find instant confirmation of my suspicions. But not everyone is that suspicious and aware of potential scams. How many unemployed people, desperate for a job, fall victim to these unsolicited email scams?

There's more to come. Click here to read Part 3 or Part 4.