RE: how bad is the job market?

[Keith Hood <klhra -at- yahoo -dot- com>]

Here in Austin, it's become rare to see an ad for any tech industry job that includes a company name. I know that to some extent, omitting the name is legitimate. Sometimes they're afraid that if they let it be known they're hiring, they'd be flooded with applicants. Or maybe a company is thinking about replacing someone and they're trying to sneak it past him.

When I see an ad with no company name, I send an email (from a secondary account) that gives my name but no contact info other than the email address. That message outlines my qualifications (which always meet or exceed their requirements), but doesn't have a resume attached. In that message I very politely spell out my concerns about phishing scams, and ask them to provide a company name so I can be sure the ad is from a legitimate entity.

I have sent out dozens of such messages, and I have received exactly one response. It amuses me to note that most of the time, shortly after I send my email asking for a name, the no-name ad disappears. It may be they found someone that quickly, but I like to flatter myself that I knocked a phishing scam off the net for a little while.


--- On Tue, 1/26/10, McLauchlan, Kevin <Kevin -dot- McLauchlan -at- safenet-inc -dot- com> wrote:

> From: McLauchlan, Kevin <Kevin -dot- McLauchlan -at- safenet-inc -dot- com>
> Subject: RE: how bad is the job market?
> To: "kathleen -at- writefortheuser -dot- com" <kathleen -at- writefortheuser -dot- com>, "beelia -at- pacbell -dot- net" <beelia -at- pacbell -dot- net>
> Cc: "TECHWR-L Writing" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com>
> Date: Tuesday, January 26, 2010, 12:36 PM
>  
> 
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: 
> > techwr-l-bounces+kevin -dot- mclauchlan=safenet-inc -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr
> -l.com
> [mailto:techwr-l-bounces+kevin.mclauchlan=safenet-> inc -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com]
> On Behalf Of kathleen -at- writefortheuser -dot- com
> > Sent: Monday, January 25, 2010 10:39 PM
> > To: beelia -at- pacbell -dot- net
> > Cc: TECHWR-L Writing
> > Subject: RE: how bad is the job market?
> > 
> > It's important for everyone to be aware that many of
> the Craig's List
> > postings are actually phishing attempts. My local
> board warns 
> > people of
> > this before they enter any of the job categories.
> > 
> > I learned this personally after replying to several of
> the 
> > better paying
> > ads that looked legit. I ended up starting a separate
> email 
> > account for
> > replying to CL listings, so I wouldn't compromise my
> regular email
> > account.
> > 
> > I've also learned to check out the company's website,
> and not to reply
> > to any ad unless it listed a company.
> > 
> > Forewarned is forearmed.
> 
> 
> And be more than cursory in your check of a website. 
> 
> I don't have any experience with bogus company sites 
> for job offers, but I've recently encountered some
> "consumer" 
> sites that were set up for no purpose other than 
> to lend (bogus) legitimacy to a scam being sold on 
> another site. 
> 
> An example is a crew calling themselves SatelliteDirect.tv
> 
> They have: http://theconsumerexperts.com/tvonyourpc.tml 
> which purports to "review" TVonPC solutions, but actually 
> exists only to steer people to the scam site itself. 
> 
> So, I can see a phisher planting a bogus site or two 
> or a bogus forum or two to lend legitimacy to their 
> central phishing site.  
> 
> By the way, I happened on that while looking for a 
> reasonably legitimate counterpart of Boxee or Hulu 
> that I could get in Canada.  So far, nothing. 
> 
> I had about three minutes of hope when I first encountered
> the 
> scam site, until the feeling of "something smells here" got
> 
> too loud to ignore. 
> 
> It would be _more_ important to quell your desperate hope 
> and pay attention to the spidey-sense when being lured 
> to give all your identifying info to a phishing site, in 
> hopes of finding employment. 
> 
> Keep your antennae up, folks, and your noses aquiver. 
> There's lots of filth out there, masquerading as human
> beings. 
> 
>  - Kevin 
> 
> 
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