Decisions related to one’s career are some of the most important aspects of adulthood. Aside
from earning a livelihood that pays for your bills, career-related developments will shape a big
part of what you will achieve in life.

Over the years, job hunting has evolved. Gone are the days that one has to physically submit an
application — the hiring process has moved to the online world today. While this has made
looking for a job easier, other entities have exploited this by scamming people out of their hard-
earned money.

Here are some tips to ensure you will have a safe job hunting experience online:

1. Be wary of “fees”

Have you ever been contacted by a “recruitment agent” that claims you have to pay
before they can process your application? When you ask them for the need to shell out
money, he/she will claim that these are fees related to the hiring process or for your
training once you are hired.

If you have encountered this scenario, this is one of the biggest red flags to exist.
Reputable companies would not ask for money from applicants because they do not
want to make their hiring processes more difficult compared to their competitors. Look at
it this way, if you were the applicant, which company are you more likely to apply for:
one that has a free hiring process or one that requires payments?

So-called companies that require fees are not reputable companies, but are entities that
are looking to prey on Filipinos who want to earn money for themselves and their
families. After they get the money, they would usually disappear and leave the victims
behind.

2. Do a background search on the company that you are applying for

Knowing the company you are applying for is one of the first steps to increase your
chances of getting hired. By doing so, you can convince the hiring personnel that your
skills are aligned with what they are looking for and that you are applying because you
are aligned with their long-term goals.
In addition, knowing your potential employer is one of the most important tips to be safe
out there. A background search — which means knowing their offices, their key
personnel, and their history throughout the years — will help you determine if your
employer is a legitimate entity that will provide you livelihood.

If these pieces of information cannot be easily found online, then you should be wary
about dealing with these entities. This is because scammers do not want to leave digital
footprints to eliminate risks of being caught by authorities.

Legitimate companies make it easy for applicants to know about them because they
market themselves as the employer of choice in their respective industries.

3. Do not trust strangers easily

These days, unknown entities are texting or calling the public at an alarmingly high
frequency. Some of these entities come from legitimate entities, such as staff members
of major conglomerates that are making sales pitches over the phone.

However, a large volume of texts and calls from unknown entities are scams. For
example, in the context of job hunting, be wary of claims from strangers that you should
click this link to earn in dollars immediately. These strangers may also entice applicants
by claiming they can get a job now without an interview.

By falling prey to these too-good-to-be-true offers, you don’t only end up with broken
dreams — but also with your personal information being stolen so that scammers can
potentially hack your financial accounts. Remember that legitimate companies usually
post their job openings on their official Facebook pages and reputable sites, such as
LinkedIn, and will contact you through the details you provide should they want to
interview you.

A safe job hunting experience entails you getting to know your potential employer in depth. By
following these three tips, you can ensure that you will exclusively talk with employers that are
interested in your skills and see you as an asset in their organization.