Online Resume: What Types of Jobs Do Recruiters Offer?

This blog entry concerns some types of jobs that recruiters are contacting you about when you post your resume online. Over a period of one week since posting at CareerBuilder, I got some unusual job prospects. By unusual, I mean careers that I had never considered and a couple that seemed improbable at best. The discussion here focuses on two interesting careers and three careers that were really scams. One disadvantage to making your resume searchable is that you will immediately get more junk mail in your inbox. Therefore, you will have to be very critical in evaluating the opportunities that come your way.

The first three opportunities were questionable, but only two felt like scams. The first two were filling out Google forms and becoming a financial agent for an international company. The new Google recruitment ads even appear in local newspapers as nationwide opportunities. Though I haven't had the chance to investigate this offer more fully, it is a little less challenging than most people would want for a work-at-home job. The financial agent is a scam that has been going on for several years over spam email. A company asks you to provide them with your name, address, and other stats. Then your job is to "receive" payments from their company and deposit them into your bank account. Then you earn a commission off of every transaction. Even without considering the Patriot Act, this scam should raise many red flags. If you don't want the FBI or the IRS knocking on your door, it is advisable to delete such emails. A general rule of thumb is that if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

The third opportunity that grabbed me was to become a world news reporter for World Voice News. I did some checking on the web and this is a scam. Although it sounds like an interesting career, you should avoid giving them your personal information. Whenever you get approached for an online job, it is hard to know if you are being contacted by a legitimate employer.