Employment scams while on the job hunt

I am in the midst of a career change to marketing, which means I'm looking at a lot entry-level job postings. Problem is most of these postings are less about marketing and communications and more about cold calling and door to door work. Most of these places don't even offer wages, just commission which is BS.

The up side is that these companies are often terrible at hiding how sketchy they are. Still even those who ignore the "WORK ATH OME FOR BIGG BUKxS!!!!" ads can still get sucked in by mildly legit looking places, often disguising themselves as "start-up business."

To help out all those job seekers out there I'm going to give you a few tips based on my own horrible experiences:

1. Check the Website:
If it looks less than professional, is missing a lot of company information, or just plain doesn't exist don't even bother applying. You are only going to end up wasting your time and money showing up for an interview.

2. Check the job description *thoroughly*:
If it's really vague, short, or uninformative as to the job requirements it might be a scam, If it promises a chance for unqualified people it's probably a scam. If the grammar, spelling and font is terrible or all over the place it's definitely a scam.

Real companies take the time to properly write out a job post. It's the fly-by nights or the places with huge turn over that don't bother so you shouldn't either.

3. They call you immediately:
Most legit companies do hiring in blocks and often it can take a few days to a few weeks before you hear back from them. This is often because they first accept the applications, review the applications and then start scheduling interviews. This takes time, so when a company calls or emails me right away up to two days after I have sent in an application I get suspicious and every time my suspicions have been confirmed.

A company that calls you right away normally isn't very picky about who they hire because they know it's a crap job with horrible conditions. Now do you really want to work for a company that knows you're going to leave them within a few weeks or months? Not really.

4. They won't tell you what your job entails:
If you do go to an interview ask this question: "what would I be doing for the company?" If they give you a crap line that doesn't sound like a job description ask them: "What are the exact duties this job requires?" if they still don't tell you, thank them for their time and leave because no reputable company is going to refuse to tell you what your job is.

Do this especially if they are asking you to come in for a second interview. An interview is not just about you getting a job, but about you finding a place you want to work. If you don't even know what your job will be how can you decide if this is the place for you? Companies that do this are preying on people who are desperately looking for work. They will either get your labour for free or they'll charge you to "sell" their product.

They won't tell you what you'll do? Just walk away.

5. Even after getting a job offer they refuse to discuss wages:
This is a big red flag! If you've gone through everything and it all seemed up and up this little sign means big problems. Once a company has offered you a job you are entitled to know the terms of employment. Which means there's no reason for them to refuse discussing things like hours, benefits and wages. If they refuse to give you information via email thank them for the offer and decline. If they say you need to come in for an info session first thank them for the offer and decline.

A place like that is just screaming they're going to take advantage of you.


There's lots of other things you can do, but if you keep these in mind you'll save yourself some time and money that would otherwise be wasted.

Sorry!

Sorry about not posting very much this week.
I got some distressing news earlier this week and I haven't been able to post.
I will be back Monday with a new questionable ad!

Questionable Advertising Monday: Pedo Sun

This week's questionable advertising is for Roc sun screen and comes from the advertisement agency DDB in Milan, Italy.

It's not the usual questionable depiction one is used to in advertisements where ad agencies seem to have forgotten it is not still 1953. No, this one is...





apparently implying that the sun is some kind of child molester.

There is really no other way to look at it. This isn't a depiction where the sun is physically harming children or acting like some kind of bully. No, these ads depict a rather predatory looking sun offering two children toys as some kind of incentive to get closer.

But the toys alone aren't really enough to ruin this ad for me. Rather, it's the way the sun looks at the audience with a sort of knowing grin. It's just unsettling.

I suppose the ad is successful in that it depicts how a sunny day can tempt children outside regardless of the possible harm of UV rays, but I'd rather not imagine the sun then trying to play a game of "hide the pickle" afterwards.

The ad's slogan is “protect them from sun,” but god if I don't read it as "never let them outside again."

Awesome Book Review Friday: Fun Home (A Family Tragicomic)

This week's book is Alison Bechdel's Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic. It's a graphic novel, but that doesn't change the fact that it is a worthwhile read.



Alison Bechdel, the writer and illustrator of "Dyke's to Watch Out For," paints the story of her childhood, more specifically the relationship between herself and her father, while using her childhood home as a frame. She writes in a liner and yet non-liner fashion. Some chapters start at the beginning of one point and then end, while other are turned inside out starting at the end, returning to the beginning and then continuing on back to the end. The result is a beautiful, honest and painful autobiography.

Alison narrates the story as an adult giving new insight into her childhood relationships. It is by no means a fun or easy story to read, as there are clear and painful scars that she carries, but it is an insightful tale of a girl growing up with a closeted and abusive father and becoming a woman who comes to terms with her own sexuality.

It is an important book because it unflinchingly looks at issues many wish childhood didn't include such as sexuality, gender restraints, masturbation, abuse and suicide. Even more importantly it examins the ways we begin to realise as we grow up that our parents are people and have lives and feelings we can not comprehend. Alison Bechdel exposes her difficult childhood and it is a potent reminder that childhood isn't anything like how we depict it. That it is a difficult and scary time, but it is also the time that helped us to become who we are.

This book is a definite read, despite all the sadness it leaves you with the positive message that you will overcome all this, and you will be better for it.

Will We Stand By While Ignorance Carries On?

The report about the Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville, Florida planning to burn copies of the Qur’an has upset me because I see in these small minded people the same dangerous hate that Ray Bradbury in “Fahrenheit 451” and Orwell in “Nineteen Eighty-Four” warned us about. As a free country the United States enjoys the freedom of speech, but like all things actions, and speech, still comes with consequences. The freedom of speech gives you the right to speak your mind in a public it is quite literally the right to hold opinions without interference. It is the right to freedom of expression. It is not however carte blanch to extol hate without reserve or consequence.

Book burning is one of my great hates, right up there with destruction of art. It is truly the worst forms of censorship and most extreme demonstrations of ignorance that man has ever conceived. This is not the freedom of expression, but rather the repression of expression. I’m not going to go into how the Dove World Outreach Center is justifying their actions, you can check their 10 Reasons to Burn a Koran(sic) if you really want to. However, I don’t want to argue with this church or prove how wrong their reasons are. We already know that no matter the reason their actions come from a place of hatred and ignorance, expanding on the specifics won’t change anything.

No, what really needs to be discussed is how many people and religious institutions are taking this opportunity to fight hate and ignorance with love and understanding. As this small church prepares to become the figurative “firemen” of “Fahrenheit 451” larger Christian churches and Jewish temples are planning to read parts of the Qur’an this weekend to promote understanding and acceptance. I am proud that so many have responded to this act of hate with strong feelings and actions to the contrary. It gives me hope that the world takes a step closer to being a better place.

Questionable Advertising Monday: Gender Status Quo

Ah, advertising. It permeates every part of almost every society, from food to politics. We can't get away from it. It also happens to be one of the greatest perpetrators of racism and sexism. Unfortunately even in the twenty-first century still many a good advertising company has created one or two questionable ads.

This week’s ad is “Growing Up Is...” for Nesquik and it comes from the McCann Erickson agency in Portugal.

It’s a rather banal ad for the Nestlé product, but it's…

Well, see for yourself.






There is nothing obviously offensive about the ad, which makes sense as it is aimed at parents, but then there's nothing contemporary about it either. At best it is a lazy attempt to portray male and female children. At worst it is another reinforcement of the same old gender roles. Not only is the imagery sexist, but in the bottom corner of each ad is a list of what “Growing Up Is…” for each sex. Girls get the usual princessy type stuff: caring for animals, kissing, and cake while boys get the usual manly type stuff: space ships, aliens, and …eating dog food? So according to this ad girls are princesses and boys are “special.”

I find it exasperating that this agency couldn’t move beyond breaking children down into their pre-assigned gender roles. Maybe they would have been better off sticking with the bunny.

Awesome Book Review Friday: Pink Brain, Blue Brain

Because a little literature can go a long way I will be posting a review of an awesome book every Friday.



This week's book is "Pink Brain, Blue Brain: How Small Differences Grow Into Troublesome Gaps And What We Can Do About It" by neuroscientist Lise Eliot.

It's a non-fiction book that explores, and disproves, the science of proving gender exists naturally. The chapters are separated by childhood development, starting at birth and finishing at teenage hood.

It would have been enough for Eliot to simply disprove the studies or expose the misinformation, but she takes it a step further. At the end of every chapter is a break-down of how you as a parent or teacher can actually work to help children develop without the constraints of genderization.

My favorite example of this is in the beginning chapters of the book where Eliot exposes the myth that gender can be effected through superficial means, such as toys or clothes. She gives the example of giving dolls to boys and trucks to girls. She points out that this method is doomed from the start because it doesn't address the real problem. Worst it often leads parents to believe that gender is natural.

Instead of simply swapping genderized items, Eliot suggests that parents should first focus on what each sex lacks due to gender constraints. For example she points out that girls rarely get to develop their spacial abilities while boys rarely get to develop their nurturing abilities. If a parent really wanted to help their children overcome gender barriers they would instead give their girls building toys, like Lego or K'Nex, and allow their boys to care for a small animal.

At times with Eliot's scientific approach to the source material the chapters can seem overwhelming. However, it is well worth giving this book a read through. I found that while I may not always understand the studies she discuses in the chapters, there is more than enough information and instruction at the end of each chapter to make up for it.

If you are a parent, teacher, gender studies student, or you just care about breaking gender barriers, Lise Eliot's "Pink Brain, Blue Brain" is read worth picking up.