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Overseas Employment Scams
For many people the prospect
of moving overseas to live and work is such an attractive and
exotic proposition that they’ll sometimes clutch at any
opportunity that comes their way without careful research and
consideration – and this is a fact known to many unscrupulous
companies that litter newspapers, tabloids, magazine and such
with advertisements offering an easy way into a new country with
well paid work, perhaps accommodation and even immigration assistance.
‘Caveat Emptor’
(or Buyer Beware) should be the rallying cry, for this is invariably
where such propositions end up – with the person responding
to the advertisement needing to purchase something at some point
for so-called specialised ‘inside’ information or
services. There are many variations on the theme but essentially
they all add up to the same prospect – you’ll have
to pay money at some point.
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Once you know what to look for these advertisements are relatively
easy to spot but commonsense is the biggest ally you can have. If
it sounds too good to be true, it generally is. To avoid falling
victim to such employment scams there are a number of tell-tale
signs that you can look out for and avoid – such as companies
that:
- ‘guarantee’ to find you a position
- claim they have the exclusive ‘inside ear’ of
hundreds or thousands of companies and can submit your C.V.
to them
- request that you send money up front for services or request
payment by money order
- only operate from a P.O. Box or ‘0800’ number
- charge fees for job leads or introductions
- insist that you must ‘act now’ to avoid deadlines
and such
Job ‘Guarantees’
Unfortunately no company is likely to be in a position to guarantee
an overseas applicant a job. What they are effectively claiming
is that no matter who you are, where you come from, what your
education or professional experience is, they will find you
a job. Taking it a step further, by stating ‘guarantee’
they are inferring that a payment must be made and that any
money paid will be returned to you if they do not find you a
position. Be wary about such claims and be particularly cautious
before sending any money to companies making such claims. While
they might state they will refund your money if you are not
placed in a job, the company, in it’s legal state, may
not be around long enough to be obliged to fulfill it’s
obligations.
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Submitting your C.V. to ‘thousands
of companies’
Particularly on the Internet, this kind of advertisement seems
to be becoming more prevalent. Essentially, for a fee, a company
will claim to have the authorisation of hundreds, if not thousands,
of companies to submit C.V.’s to them – and that you,
by using their services, will have a better chance than those
who don’t use them of getting a job with those companies.
Relationships between employment agencies and businesses are normally
formed and nurtured over time. The chances therefore of one single
agency having the exclusive rights to submit C.V.’s to thousands
of legitimate businesses must be considered extremely slim indeed.
Furthermore, it is in the best interests of those agencies to
only submit for consideration to those companies candidates who
are likely to meet only the highest standards when it comes to
actual vacancies the businesses may have. It is most certainly
not in their interests for long-term relationships with those
businesses for the agency to submit every single C.V. that the
agency receives from overseas. It is more likely therefore that
while these agencies may indeed submit your C.V. to thousands
of companies, the approach is likely to be unsolicited and unwelcome
by the companies themselves. If you have e-mail, think about the
spam that you will undoubtedly receive on a daily basis. E-mails
that you haven’t asked for, peddling products and services
that you don’t want. This is likely to be how your C.V.
is presented to an employer – as spam. If you are serious
about wanting to work overseas, this would be the last option
you’d choose for presenting your C.V. to a potential employer.
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