The increase in the number of fake jobs in Nigeria has made the job cycle tiring and frustrating for job seekers. Surfing the internet for job opportunities, going through the interview process, and not receiving any feedback are issues almost every job seeker deals with. In recent times, fake jobs have become part of what job seekers deal with in Nigeria. Fake jobs are advertised for different reasons, and as a job seeker, you should be able to identify and protect yourself from fake jobs.
In this article, we will share with you ways in which you can identify fake jobs and how to protect yourself from fake jobs. But before then, what exactly is a fake job.
Fake jobs also known as scam jobs are simply job opportunities that are not real or legitimate. Unfortunately, the brains behind fake jobs post, work hard to make sure it looks genuine to a job seeker. And the reason is that the more genuine a job look, the easier it will be for them to get victims. Sadly, because of desperation, some job seekers fall victims to these fake jobs.
Reasons Why People Post Fake Jobs
There are various reasons why people post fake jobs in Nigeria, and they include;
For money exploitation: One of the reasons why people post fake jobs is to exploit job seekers for their money. A job seeker that has faced rejection upon rejection might be desperate to do anything just to land a job. And these scammers take advantage of that desperation to ask them to pay for jobs; thereby exploiting them of their money.
Kidnapping/trafficking: Another reason is so they can kidnap innocent job seekers. Scammers do this by sending weird locations to job seekers for an interview, and once the job seeker gets there, they kidnap them to either ask for ransom from their families or for any other purpose.
Collect personal data: Some scammers just post fake jobs so that they can get job seekers’ personal data such as phone numbers, emails, and so on. They might need these data for marketing purposes or sell them to those who need them.
Now that you know some reasons why people post fake jobs, let us see how to identify these fake jobs
How do you identify fake jobs in Nigeria?
The truth is a lot of job seekers are conscious of fake jobs in Nigeria, but the people behind the scam are also working overtime to get more victims. However, you should know that a job is a fake job if;
The company/organization does not have an online presence
We are in a digital world where everything is being digitalized and most companies have an online presence. They now have websites and blogs to showcase who they are and what they do. So, if you research about the company and you can’t find anything about them online then that is a scam job. However, some legitimate companies are yet to establish their online presence. And some fake companies now have websites to scam people. However, if you could not get one or two members of their staff on LinkedIn, then the company is not legit.
You are asked to pay money for jobs
When you are asked to pay any form of money to activate your employment status, then it is a fake job. Most fake organizations often ask innocent job seekers to pay an employment processing fee or pay for software or gadget. And because some job seekers are already desperate they fall victim to this scam. No legit company will ask you to pay any processing money or employment activation fee.
The job description is vague
One of the ways of differentiating between fake jobs and genuine job is their job description. For fake jobs, the job description is vague and generic, they do not specify the job and who they want for the role. But the job description for genuine jobs is always specific with job titles, the responsibilities, and the type of person they want for the role. This is why job seekers need to read job descriptions thoroughly to identify whether the job is legit or not.
You get the job offer immediately after applying
No matter how good your credentials or cv is you still need to undergo some form of an interview before being employed. However, if you receive a job offer immediately after applying for a job, then it is a fake job.
The venue of the interview is suspicious
Even though not all job interviews are carried out in an office, some interviews might be via zoom or telephone. However, if it is a face-to-face interview, then you need to take note of the venue. If the location is in a shady environment or the venue is not a structured organizational environment, then it might be a fake job.
You receive a job offer without applying
There are times you receive a job offer message either through SMS or Email, without applying for the job. If you receive such messages, then the job is a scam
How to protect yourself from fake jobs
Even though the scam format may keep changing there will always be fake jobs in the job market. And you must protect yourself from falling victim to these scams. You can do so through the following ways;
Make adequate research
Make adequate research before applying for any job to know whether the job legit or not. You can look up their websites on google and their staff on LinkedIn. This way you will be able to verify their genuineness so as not to fall victim. And these are the ways of protecting yourself;
Pay attention to job details
We know you are excited about seeing a job advert that matches your profile, but you need to calm down and read the job detail thoroughly. Even though fake jobs are now trying to make themselves unnoticeable, however, some things set them apart. You might just notice that there are lots of grammatical errors in the job description or the spellings are not correct. Little things like this are hardly noticeable if you do not pay attention to job details.
Use trusted platforms for your job search.
Protecting yourself from job scammers may not be as easy as it seems. So we recommend that you should use trusted platforms such as justjobng.com. Justjobng protects you by posting only legit jobs.
Final thoughts
Even though it may seem the job search cycle will not end, you should calm down and not give in to desperation. Because desperation can make you fall victim to these fake jobs.
