5 Ways to Stay Safe While Searching for a New Job

5 Ways to Stay Safe While Searching for a New Job 5 Ways to Stay Safe While Searching for a New Job 1 Copycat scammers are those who mimic well-known name brands and websites to trick unsuspecting job seekers and consumers into being scammed. You might think youre dealing with a reputable company, but use the tips below to be absolutely sure. Here are five tips to ensure you are working with a legitimate company and to keep you safe while searching. Look at the web address. This may seem like a logical thing to do whenever you are going to a website, but little changes in the web address can lead you to a potential scam website or copycat. Being able to spot a scam URL can save you time and energy, so make sure to always open a fresh browser and Google the company name to match it to the one provided on the job listing. The difference between an ‘s’ at the end of a company name or not can take you to a false website that looks similar to the one you are seeking. Do not respond to unsolicited emails. only contacts our members with limited correspondence- a weekly newsletter and daily job alerts for paid members. These emails will always have our domain name after the @ symbol (for example, example@.com). All of our emails to you will come from the domain name. Job seekers should be wary of emails that do not come directly from the companys domain name, e.g., hotmail, yahoo, and gmail email addresses. Be wary of requests for money. There are plenty of job scams where the employers do not come directly out and ask for money, but instead insist that their employees purchase software, download programs, or purchase items from them directly. Legitimate employers will not require that you purchase anything, like training programs or software, prior to being hired by their company. Always be wary of downloading or paying for any proprietary software or giving any banking information to an employer directly as a prerequisite for being hired. It should be noted that this is different than an employer requiring that you have a certain Internet speed, or computer operating system, to be qualified for their jobs. Often times, legitimate work-from-home jobs have BYOD (bring your own device) requirements, like using Windows 7 or higher, having high-speed Internet service, or having a certain size monitor. Trust your instincts. If a position looks too good to be true- pay attention. Telecommuting is a great way for people to work flexibly from their homes, but the important thing to notice in that statement is work. Employers who offer great opportunities to their employees to work from home are expecting a certain level of professionalism, so positions where there are no restrictions or requirements up front should be vetted for legitimacy. Anything that boasts a salary much higher than market value should also be vetted for legitimacy. With over 25,000 hand-screened positions on our site, we certainly know flexible work is out there that offers great salaries, but if the compensation seems really high, it could be a scam. When in doubt, contact us directly. We have a stellar team of Client Service professionals who are more than happy to answer any questions you have about correspondence or questions regarding information you see in our listings. We are happy to help explain scams or processes a member would want to apply to legitimate jobs. We are here to help and we love educating our members on ways to combat and avoid job scams and unsavory websites. It is important when working online or looking for jobs online to ensure that you are making smart, safe choices that will lead to flexible work success. By doing a little homework on the companies you are interested in applying with and the places that you do business, you can avoid having your identity stolen or money scammed out of your account. The very purpose behind the creation of was to help job seekers find these “needle in a haystack” jobs without having to weed through junk to find them. Make sure when you are seeking a flexible job that you look to the established and award-winning site. Readers, what do you do to stay safe while searching? Share with us below!