The Latin expression “Caveat emptor,” translated “let the buyer beware,” is an enduring reminder that, throughout recorded history, purchasers of goods and services have always had responsibility to perform “due diligence” to ensure the fulfillment of their purchase expectations.  Had the modern job market existed in the time of ancient Rome, sages of the era would, no doubt, have coined a phrase admonishing job seekers of potential risks.

Today’s job market is fraught with danger for the unsuspecting job seeker.  Predators stand ready to rob you of your identity, money, and dignity.  So, allow me to offer this caveat:  beware!

The unemployed are particularly vulnerable to scams.  Desperate to secure employment, often in jobs unrelated and at significantly lower levels than their backgrounds, unemployed job seekers will often respond to virtually every opportunity provided them.  Identity thieves are taking advantage of such job seeker vulnerabilities via email job offers.  In order to accept such offers, candidates must provide them with identifying and contact information which the thieves then utilize to get credit cards and loans in the names of the job seekers.

Technically legitimate but no less insidious are the firms dubbing themselves as providing “executive assistance,” “executive search services,” or “job transition resources.”  These firms offer menus of services to assist job seekers in uncovering opportunities.  Frequently including combinations of services including resume and cover letter preparation, employment marketing campaign development and execution, job candidate support and guidance, mass mailings or electronic document distributions to potential employers, and information resources, these firms can make a convincing case for the expenditure of several thousand to tens of thousands of dollars of job seeker resources to assist in finding employment.

Preying upon job candidates, usually unemployed, at a time in their lives when they are most vulnerable, these firms “push all the right buttons,” playing upon the emotions of often discouraged job seekers.  Sold on the fictitious notion that the services they are purchasing will “pay for themselves” in terms of reduced length of job search or increased income when the right job is found, the most desperate of such candidates will succumb to the slick packaging and even smoother pitch of those selling these services.  But, read the fine print.  These firms will not place you in a position; they will merely provide assistance to you in your search.  And, they are usually paid their entire fee upfront!

Finally, for those not meeting success in their job searches, there is the lure of the thousands of “work at home” schemes being perpetrated over the Internet.  Offering income potentials that are “too good to be true,” these schemes often require the purchase of digital or print media at what appears a reasonable price.  It is only after the initial purchase that the duped individuals discover that, in order to “succeed,” they must agree to recurring monthly charges or buy expensive supplemental products or services in order to “achieve” that which was promised as a result of the first purchase.  Attempts to enforce “guarantees” of refunds are usually stonewalled until such time as most purchasers simply give up.

And so, if you find yourself in the unenviable position of seeking employment during our current economic crisis, be mindful of the potential risks and take to heart the old adage that if an offer “appears too good to be true, it probably is.”