What is Craigslist's problem?

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rachelscroggins

Registered: 15.02.11

last visit:

Posts: 1
Posted: 16.02.2011, 02:19

Jacey said:
When I apply to any of these job postings listed on Craislist, this is the e-mail I send them:
Good Morning,

This posting appears to be something that I would be very interested in and I possess all the qualifications listed.

If this is indeed a legitimate job posting and there is an actual person conducting interviews for this position, I will be more than willing to provide you with my resume.

However, since more than 90% of postings found on Craigslist are not legitimate and serve only to obtain personal information from the job seeker, I will not blindly send my resume.

The usual order of business for these scams is to send out the same e-mail, word for word promising a company car, company credit card, etc-all you have to do is click here to complete your credit report.
It’s amazing how many “HR Directors” use this exact e-mail format.

I am a person looking for a job.
I am skeptical and I am careful when it comes to providing my personal information.

So again, if this posting is legitimate, you may contact me on my cell listed below or e-mail me with the name of your company and the name of the person who would be conducting the interview.

Best Regards,

jacey: how does that work for you? if it works great i may try the same type of approach, as i have been blindly emailing my resume (but not my credit report, after i learned the hard way!)
ive been searching for a job for what seems a very long time now, and i have come across numerous scams on craigslist. i have spent hours upon hours writing cover letters, resumes, salary requirements, references, availability, etc.. and i have responded to close to a hundred posts at this point. i have been contacted regarding ONE legitimate job, and i actually had the interview today. it seems so tedious to weed through this many scams in order to get to one legit job. im already becoming frustrated, and it's only been approximately 3 weeks.
logjam9251

Registered: 16.02.11

last visit:

Posts: 2
Posted: 16.02.2011, 15:29

I love your response to them. I am seriously seeking a job in the Florida area and I am so tired of the crap listed on Craigslist trying to get your personal information. I won't even think of using Craigslist in my job search. Guess I'll stick with the serious job sites such as Career Builder, etc. and the local newspapers.
angelina

Registered: 16.02.11

last visit:

Posts: 1
Posted: 16.02.2011, 19:47

i rec'd this email from a woman also, but I didnt do any of the things she asked. Now I know of the scams going on and will be very careful!
Quote said:

bamahds said:
This is the email that I got in a reply to an ad that I answered on craigslist. I felll for it hook, line and sinker.
I had to close my bank account and call the credit bureaus to flag/alert my credit file.

Hello,

First and foremost, thank you for your interest in the home. Anyways I have attached some pictures to this email and I am available to show the house this week or next if that fits your schedule as well. Just to give you a little more information about the home, the water and trash are paid by myself. The security deposit is $400 and can be paid in 2 installments if money is tight. (I know how that can be).

We do allow pets with a $75 security deposit, refundable at move out. The house includes a washer and dryer, and we have a contract for lawn care so the renter does not have to cut the grass.

I will be happy to show the house at an agreed upon time and date but I do require that all applicants and additional renters who will be living in the home complete a credit check to ensure their eligibility. I have to make sure potential renters are qualified before I show the property. This ensures neither of us will be wasting our time.

It is okay if you have bad credit (trust me). I just check to make sure that you don't have multiple evictions on your record. (We won't rent if you have 2 or more evictions on your record)

I also had to recently stop giving out the exact address of rental properties before I am able to show them because last time I did that the house was vandalized. (I will be glad to give you the address right after your reply). I assure you though that this is a very safe neighborhood. I actually lived in this home for 3 years (and it is very cozy!).

As soon as you can, please click and go to the secure website link below to complete the credit report check (takes about 30 seconds). Once you have complete it, I'll call you once I receive the information from the credit company (very quickly usually).

Credit Check Link: http://www.nationalcreditreport194.com

*** Please do not send me your credit report directly. Click or copy and paste the link into your internet address bar and complete to ensure I receive the notification.

Once you fill out the report the credit company automatically forwards me your name, email address, phone number, and whether you have had any outstanding evictions in the past 5 years to determine your renter eligibility. This is the only information I am interested in. This is a soft credit report so it won't touch your FICO score (which is why we work with them).

This process turns some people off, so I completely understand if you decide not to complete it. In that case, good luck with your home search. I just want to be honest with you up front about our process, as it helps weed out ineligible renters and scammers and ensure that we place quality tenants in the home.

If eligible you will also be sent an email with my cell number and the home's address so we can set up a time to go see the house and discuss any other questions or concerns you may have.

Thanks for the interest!

- Susan Bennett

"Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves."
~ Romans 12:10edited by: bamahds, datetimebrief
IHateAFlake

Registered: 21.02.11

last visit:

Posts: 1
Posted: 22.02.2011, 06:26

I have used CraigsList for months, without any real success. You can tell that a good lot of the jobs are flaky: Administrative Assistant jobs that are in location: World Wide. Recruiters that cannot spell a darn thing correctly. Job descriptions that sound like foreigners wrote them.

The rest of them may or may not be flakes. Some of the legitimate ones, however, can spell trouble. A lot of the "real" jobs can be a waste of time. Consider the staffing agencies:

Staffing agencies advertise jobs that cause you headaches. If you have experience in a certain field, they will label you and classify you under that field. If, however, you are desperate for a job and would much rather have a manual labor job than the last few jobs you had, then GOOD LUCK.

Everybody knows that you do not put down any education if you want a job at a fast food place. Why? Because a) it is none of their business if you can type and b) it will only hurt your chance of getting a job there.

So a smart person omits the information that the employer does not need. You tailor your cover letter and resume to fit the job. Staffing agencies, however, need only one resume. That resume will forever dictate what type of opportunity they offer you. If you ever applied for an office job with a particular agency and you were qualified, why would you even apply for a manual labor job there? Doing so only wastes your time.

On CraigsList, however, you don't know who put up the ad. Even real, legit jobs can be placed as temp-to-hire jobs. But the staffing agency needs only one resume to classify you-- the one with your highest education and experience. Why would you bother if you knew that the same agency already has your highest education and training under a different job description?

Temp agencies post jobs so that they can get the widest number of applicants to staff their jobs. They probably already have a job title your resume (and 10,000 others) are under. If you attempt to get a job washing dishes and they can see that you have some sort of education, then you are not the best qualified and you won't get the job.

Remember, I am talking about real, legit jobs.
FlakeMistress

Registered: 25.01.09

last visit:

Posts: 213
Posted: 22.02.2011, 08:44

Thank you for your post, IHateAFlake. It's very informative and I hope our users read it.

~FM

--------------------
Frosted Flakes Are Filling!
ThePowersThatBe

Registered: 23.02.11

last visit:

Posts: 105
Posted: 23.02.2011, 22:32

rachelscroggins said:
Jacey said:
When I apply to any of these job postings listed on Craislist, this is the e-mail I send them:
Good Morning,

This posting appears to be something that I would be very interested in and I possess all the qualifications listed.

If this is indeed a legitimate job posting and there is an actual person conducting interviews for this position, I will be more than willing to provide you with my resume.

However, since more than 90% of postings found on Craigslist are not legitimate and serve only to obtain personal information from the job seeker, I will not blindly send my resume.

The usual order of business for these scams is to send out the same e-mail, word for word promising a company car, company credit card, etc-all you have to do is click here to complete your credit report.
It’s amazing how many “HR Directors” use this exact e-mail format.

I am a person looking for a job.
I am skeptical and I am careful when it comes to providing my personal information.

So again, if this posting is legitimate, you may contact me on my cell listed below or e-mail me with the name of your company and the name of the person who would be conducting the interview.

Best Regards,

jacey: how does that work for you? if it works great i may try the same type of approach, as i have been blindly emailing my resume (but not my credit report, after i learned the hard way!)
ive been searching for a job for what seems a very long time now, and i have come across numerous scams on craigslist. i have spent hours upon hours writing cover letters, resumes, salary requirements, references, availability, etc.. and i have responded to close to a hundred posts at this point. i have been contacted regarding ONE legitimate job, and i actually had the interview today. it seems so tedious to weed through this many scams in order to get to one legit job. im already becoming frustrated, and it's only been approximately 3 weeks.

I send a link to my online resume for them to review from a yahoo account created just for craigslist. Anonymous reply address and no personal information, just my education level, industries I have worked, my skills and responsibilities. I have gotten replies from legit companies, in addition to a lot of spam requesting credit info. I'm not worried because there is nothing anyone can use from my resume. I found one thing to be true regarding legit job postings on craigslist, they pay very little.
wlc1507

Registered: 25.02.11

last visit:

Posts: 1
Posted: 25.02.2011, 21:02

Jacey,

I love your reply letter! It's very discouraging to spend hours searching for a job and now have to worry about despicable people like this! Apparently it is a waste of time to even apply to anything on Craigslist! Great response though- I love it! Do you report these ads? Thanks.
iloveguy

Registered: 11.11.10

last visit:

Posts: 4
Posted: 25.02.2011, 21:35

I LOVE Jacey's letter and have been using it whenever I respond to a job ad. Thank you!
windy

Registered: 25.02.11

last visit:

Posts: 8
Posted: 25.02.2011, 22:49

I am sorry to say I believe Craigslist is part of the scam. I have had an account with CL for years, but the minute I tried to post a warning about a job scam my account was stopped. My posting never showed up, they made me change my pass word, and still I couldn't post. Then they wanted me to do a phone check. My simple post in R&R suddenly got flagged and removed. I went to the help desk to ask what was going on, and after being trolled by a bunch of cruel people, one persons response was "Now your account is fragile. Another mistake and it might get put on hold. Better take a break for a bit." all because I tried to post a warning. So why would a warning be so alarming to CL? I think its someone on the inside watching out for his/her's real bread and butter.