Fake jobs on job boards

Since the very earliest days of job boards, as they evolved from the primordial internet ooze, behind them and covered in the primordial slime was Jobius Fakius, or the fake job.

In the early days it was simply a made-up advertisement by a recruitment consultant. Typically it read “Sales managers wanted nationwide.”  Of course, there might have been a sales manager job; it might even have been nationwide; but most recruitment consultants will admit that this was simply an attempt to get candidates to register their CVs.

Following complaints by job seekers about these fake jobs, job boards starting writing into their terms and conditions that recruitment consultants had to advertise real live specific vacancies.  And some quality job boards actually remove fake jobs when they find out.

But recruitment consultants are nothing if not inventive. The fake job has evolved. It now looks like a real live job. With a salary and a location and reporting lines and everything. Indeed, the new fake job looks like a real job because it was once a real job. Just not any more.

When you phone up to enquire about it, you discover that the job has “just been filled.” However, all is  not lost for the candidate; you can still send in your CV anyway.  Sound familiar? And that was, of course, the whole objective of the exercise to start with. To get CVs. There was never a job in the first place.

This is bad but what’s also worrying is that with the rise of un-moderated  job boards, scams and fraudulent job posting is becoming a significant issue. Recruitment consultants still advertise fake jobs. But now also there are “jobs” which require people pay for training for. Then there are more home-working jobs scams. You know the kind “Earn £1500 a week on your computer.”

And, if you think about what information a CV could contain (personal details, address,  National insurance number, passport number etc.) the dangers of identify theft  is obvious.

Now, in the United States, the FTC yesterday launched a programme to help protect job seekers. The scheme is about targeting those very scam artists. The launch announcement said:

“Federal and state law enforcement officials will not tolerate those who take advantage of
consumers in times of economic misfortune. If you falsely advertise that you will connect people with jobs or with opportunities for them to make money working from home, we will shut you down. We will give your assets to the people you scammed, and, when it’s appropriate, we’ll refer you to criminal authorities for prosecution.”

This powerful consumer protection and education move should be welcomed and if possible copied in the United Kingdom. Although whatjobsite seeks to help employer with online recruitment, it is imperative for the very survival of the job board market, that candidates are protected. There is no job board market without candidates. And if candidates aren’t protected by job boards then they won’t use them.

Go Uncle Sam!