I get it. You are excited to have just begun your journey for a better life in Canada. You are possibly euphoric. It takes a while to get settled and perhaps you come in the winter months. This may mean that most of what you have in your closet isn’t going to be a good fit and you must buy winter clothing and stuffs. However, you may like the serenity and food. If you have a sweet tooth, you are in the right place. Soon though, bills start to rack up and you must find yourself a job. Now is where you must be careful, cautious even. Yes, there are tons of job opportunities but beware of the sketchy ones. These are jobs that seem too good to be true because if it sounds too good to be true, it probably isn’t. I will be using this article to share some tips on what you need to know when looking for job in Canada as a new immigrant.
As you begin to apply for jobs on job websites, you will probably get a few call backs. Some calls, and sometimes emails, come out of the blue. As you will find out, you can’t quite remember applying to most of these jobs. This is where you must be careful and always exercise due diligence. Applying for jobs means some of your information is already out there. There are good paying jobs if you look hard enough and there are ones which will take more out of you than they give in return. So, because you are new and unfamiliar, you are an easy target as I have since found out. From my experience, here are some signs that will help you identify if the job offer is a scam.
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Compulsory Payment
The most common sign that a job scam is when you are asked to pay a certain amount to get a job. Employees do not pay the employer. It is the employer that pays the employee. The same applies to working with a recruiter.
No Experience Required
Another obvious red flag. If the job description is vague and you do not need any skills or experience to obtain it, this is usually the first sign of a scam. Remember that even a basic job requires some kind of experience or skills.
Suspicious, random emails
E-mails that are job scams do not include any contact information for the organization in question or are sent from a personal account. Always do due diligence and search for the company information online or LinkedIn. If you can’t find useful information about the company online, just delete the email.
You are at loss as to when you sent out the application
If you find yourself in this situation, this should set a red flag. This is typically a classic sign of job scams. People who contact you will usually say that they found your resume online. In some cases, they can seduce you by offering you a job right away. In such cases, it is best to check the company’s history to see if it really exists. Even if you find information about the company online, still ask your friends to see if they know anything about the company. You can’t be too careful.
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Unprofessional communication
Job offers with grammatical errors, spelling errors and incorrect punctuation should raise a red flag. You definitely don’t want to fall victim to fraudulent and scam job offers.
Incredible pay with less effort
Generally, these are work at home scams, where you get paid well but work a few hours a day. Legitimate work at home would require you to have some experience and skills. In addition, organizations that offer real work from home will have a suitable website with their contact information. Please note that some of the scams are from companies that mirror legitimate companies. So, you need to ensure that you do your due diligence.
You must provide confidential information
If your personal information, (such as SIN, driver’s license number, bank details or address) are requested in a job offer, it is more likely to be a fraud. No serious organization will ask for your personal data in the job offer itself.
Lastly, there are companies that disguise exactly what they do, when you do find out that they in fact exist. Moreover, many of their ‘recruiters’ or ‘associates’ try to ‘get you in’ with a promise of financial freedom. You must be cautious at this point. Many companies and corporations in Canada employ many tactics to try and make more money and that includes you doing a lot of dirty work. They prey on the vulnerable and the JJCs who totally believe in them. Some of the tactics, which some might argue is perfectly legitimate, is multi-level-marketing (MLM). Back home, we usually associate MLM with companies that are into supplements, skin care, and perfume products but in Canada and America, telecoms and even insurance companies, in clandestine, employ this method of ‘wealth creation’
One thing you need to know is that these wealth they claim to create has set many of their ‘associates’ back and possibly even break families. Some people have even burnt bridges because they are under pressure to ‘bring at least two people in.’ Most people will not tell you this initially until after you must have been so neck deep in the program and you are asked to pay certain fees to become a member which otherwise you may not been willing to pay.
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So, as you continue your job search, take note of these and only accept job offers from legitimate companies. If you have any experience similar to any I mentioned above, I would like to hear from you. Kindly use the comment section of this article to share your experience.
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