CV, Job Boards/Online, Job Search Resources, Recruiters

CV scams

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The Guardian and other sources have reported evidence of scammers preying on beleaguered job hunters by posing as recruiters and offering CV re-writes for a fee.

Fake job ads are netting CVs and the candidate then gets a call saying they are an “ideal fit” for the job but the CV needs to be tidied up before it can get sent on to the company. There is also usually a promise that the upgraded CV will result in an interview. The recruiter then recommends someone to revise the CV for fees ranging from £99 to around £350.

Of course the job doesn’t exist and, whilst CVs do appear to be getting a makeover, there is no interview – candidates are told the post was filled internally or withdrawn at the last minute. After a month or so, the web site comes down and a new one goes up in its place for the whole sham to start all over again.

Good recuitment consultants will help you refine and develop your CV, or make suggestions as to how it can be improved, but be highly suspicious of anyone who wants to take money off you – especially if it’s mid-process and they’re tempting you with the possibility of an interview to follow.

There are many good specialist CV services out there, some from a recruitment background, some are professional writers. If you’re going to use one (and I’d argue that the best person to write your CV is you), look for one that’s completely independent of any recruitment organisation – and do your own research. A personal recommendation is always far better than a Google search.

One of the most widely reported scams is a website called employeruk.com  It looks very plausible, but DON’T SUBMIT ANY DETAILS, IT’S A FAKE!

There are also reports of the mainstream job sites like Monster and totaljobs.com being hit by scammers registering as recruiters and skimming personal details off CVs for identity theft crimes. The Guardian article reports of a controlled experiment to see how much personal information gullible job searchers would offer up. It’s estimated that criminals need just three out of 15 key pieces of information to commit identity fraud – the average CV received as part of the experiment contained eight items.

Some tips to avoid the scams:

  • If it looks too good to be true, it probably is
  • Avoid any recruitment sites with just 0845, 0844 or mobile numbers – they could be anywhere. Avoid recruiters with webmail addresses like Yahoo! and hotmail. Look for a bricks and mortar address and research the company if you’ve not heard of it before
  • Be very suspicious of any recruitment consultant asking you for money – in a bone fide agency it’s the employer who pays their fee
  • On your CV, do not include your date of birth, place of birth, middle names or marital status – it’s irrelevant for a job application and grist to the mill for identity fraudsters
  • Be wary of including your full postal address in CVs being uploaded into job portals, your general location such as a town or city should suffice.

It’s appalling that people are exploiting job searchers for money, and also sometimes committing identity fraud with unsuspecting job applicants. Don’t get caught out.

Job Boards/Online, Job Search Resources, Recruiters

Get paid by a recruiter!

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I have just been reading about an Edinburgh company doing something very interesting in the recruitment market: Playfair & Noble.

They have essentially cut out the middle man. As an employer, you can post jobs and view candidates – nothing new there. And as a candidate you can register and browse for jobs, again, no great shakes. Until you discover that the fee P&N charge the employer for hiring someone is only 7% – compared to an industry average of 25% – and P&N then give half of that fee to the candidate!

So if you land a £40,000 job through them, they pay you £1,400. Nice one.

They launched in the summer and appear to have got off to a really good start. I don’t know of anyone who has used them yet, but they have some reputable clients in the legal sector that I know, such as Burness, Shepherd & Wedderburn and Semple Fraser. Ian Anderson, HR Director at Semple Fraser, said in an IOD article about P&N, “Our early experience of working with them has been positive and gives us confidence that their approach does what it says on the tin.”

They are currently focused on the following areas, but saying that they are likely to expand this:

  • Accountancy & Finance
  • Architecture / Design
  • Engineering
  • Executives
  • Information Technology
  • Law
  • Project Management
  • Quantity Surveying / Cost Management
  • Sales & Marketing
  • Secretarial

    • Check it out. Anyone out there had any experience with them – as employer or candidate?

    Books, Establishing career goals, General Career Management, Self-awareness

    Re-thinking careers education

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    I stumbled across this:

    “More than 20 years ago a generation of schoolchildren sat down to complete a questionnaire they were told would predict their future.”

    Which is a BBC Scotland story about the Jiig-Cal computer in Edinburgh that reported back to an estimated four million pupils across the UK in the eighties about which career paths they should follow. I have vague memories of doing this questionnaire, although I can’t remember what my results were.

    The article says that 70% of people went into jobs suggested for them by the computer – that doesn’t mean that they were the right jobs! It just shows how influential careers education or advice can be.

    Fortunately, careers education has moved on a great deal since then. Unfortunately, I think it’s still hampered by an education system that is schooling people in ‘old world’ ways that are wholly inappropriate for our current reality. This is best articulated by Sir Ken Robinson in his TED Talk ‘Schools kill creativity’. If you have school-aged children, you have got to listen to this 18-minute talk. It could change the way you view their selection of subjects, which could have profound outcomes on their career success.

    Some of Sir Ken’s ideas are explored further in Dan Pink’s book ‘A Whole New Mind’. If you are not the classic left-brain, MBA touting whizz-kid – fear not! The future for us in the west belongs to those who recognise and develop their right-brain (and, ultimately, whole-brain) capabilities.

    So, if you’re in any form of career education at present, I would urge you to take account of some of this thinking that our current system is somewhat off the mark in terms of preparing people for happy and productive careers over the next 20-30 years.

    And if you remember what the Jiig-Cal computer predicted for you, post it here!

    Establishing career goals, General Career Management, Self-awareness, Uncovering opportunities

    Are you cut out for a move cross-sector?

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    I recently attended a session on the Hogan Dark Side assessment. This instrument looks at 11 areas of strength (such as enthusiasm, focus, confidence, etc.) and measures which of these factors will flip into a ‘Dark Side’ characteristic when over-done under pressure. For example, confidence over-done becomes arrogance; enthusiasm becomes volatility, etc. I found the tool itself very useful, and what particularly interested me was the variation in norm group scores across different generations and between the public and private sectors.

    There’s not a lot you can do about your age, although, if you’re in a management position, it is worth noting that your reactions to stress and pressure will probably be different to your colleagues in other generations (Gen X, Gen Y or Baby Boomers) – therefore they need to be managed differently.

    The career management point I want to make is that there do seem to be some fundamental differences between what makes public sector workers tick compared to those from the private sector. Under pressure (and who isn’t at present?) the two groups react very differently:

    Public sector workers become more cautious, detached and dependent; whilst private sector workers veer into displaying arrogance, becoming more manipulative and being dramatic.

    These are quite stark differences. It suggests to me that the prevailing culture within the public sector is “Don’t take any risks, batten down the hatches, just follow orders”; whilst in the private sector it’s “Talk yourself out of it, take what you can, go over the top with emotion”. Stereotypical? Perhaps, but the data backs it up (statistics never lie, do they?)

    This is a UK sample of over 18,000 – so statistically significant. And for the careerist, perhaps considering a move cross-sector right now, the question has to be ‘Am I cut out for this kind of environment?’

    I know there are many parts of the public sector wanting to get more commercial and they are bringing in private sector expertise; and there are plenty of private sector organisations that would benefit from a more cautious approach.

    In my experience, though, people who move across sectors expecting that they can single-handedly change things, very quickly succumb to pressure to conform or get spat out. I’m not suggesting you don’t consider a move cross-sector – there are some very exciting opportunities out there when you broaden your horizons – but go in with your eyes open, understanding that you will experience some culture shock, whichever way you move.

    The people I know who have successfully made the move have done so on an interim or consultancy basis initially – experimenting with ‘the other side’, and taking the time to find their niche, before committing to it whole-heartedly.

    My advice – explore all the options, network with people already operating in the area you are considering moving into and then test it out in some way if it appeals. Recognise that there are fundamental differences in the MO between the public and private sectors and you’ll probably assimilate pretty well.

    Have you got experience moving cross-sector? If so, post a comment…

    General Career Management

    A race or a journey?

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    So thinking about this whole ‘careers’ business I got to wondering about the origin of the word.

    Turns out it’s from the French carriere, meaning ‘racecourse’, which in turn is derived from the Latin cararia meaning ‘road’ or ‘track’.

    So do you view your career as a race or a journey?

    I tend to favour the ‘journey’ metaphor – I don’t think there’s a finish line for a career (at least, not until we finally check out from this world), and I don’t view my career as a competition with others. I do want to achieve a ‘personal best’, but I’m not racing against anyone else. 

    What do you think?

    Seems like an ideal opportunity to try out the polling feature on the blog….

    Books, Networking

    Dig your well before you’re thirsty

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    I was speaking to two job searchers recently who both found out fairly suddenly that they were about to be back in the job market. Both were networking extensively – networking being well established as the means through which most professionals find their next role.

    For one of them, who had maintained and nurtured her network, things were moving quickly. She was down to a final stage interview for one role and had two other opportunities on the go, all within four weeks of leaving her last post.

    The other person was re-establishing key relationships. His contacts were responsive, but he was in the process of ‘activating’ them after not having had much contact over the last year or so.

    This reminds me of Harvey Mackay’s book ‘Dig Your Well Before You’re Thirsty’. Networking is a great job search tool, but it shouldn’t be a reactive thing – tapping into network contacts when you need them. You should proactively build and develop your network all the time, so that it’s there – ready – when you need it.

     

    Career success stories, General Career Management

    The inspiration that started it all…

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    I was driving up to Aberdeen on Wednesday and heard Simon Groom, the Director of the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, on Stark Talk on Radio Scotland. He has had a fascinating career and I thought “How could I tell people about his story?”

    This blog is the answer! Simon originally studied English before Art History. He grew up in Liverpool from quite humble beginnings, has been nearly penniless in Japan and Italy and now curates one of the finest collections of modern art in Europe.

    He is a wonderful example of how anyone can reach the pinnacle of their chosen profession, and because Fairplace, the career management firm I work for, supports new artists, his story really resonated with me.

    My intention with this blog is to highlight new ideas, practical tips and useful resources for anyone looking to further their career.

    Because I live and work in Scotland, my focus is on the Scottish labour market and career-related developments north of the border, but most of my posts will be relevant to career builders everywhere.

    Your comments welcome, hope you enjoy my posts and find them useful!