Are you about to be conned?

There are increased cases of job seekers being conned by very organized individuals/institutions who promise to employ them.

I almost fell victim recently when one ‘Prof’ asked to pay 9,500 in order for a referral to undergo medical test before being hired as a Cabin Crew. But my third eye is very sharp, I ask lots of questions so let’s just say, it didn’t end well for the ‘Professor’.

It is very common to be conned these days especially with the growing unemployment rate in Kenya. However, even with so many cases recorded, people have refused to learn. So how do you know the potential job is a con?

Whenever you are asked to pay money in order to get employed, it is highly likely that the job in question doesn’t exist. This does not include any recruitment fees paid to a recruitment agency for services rendered.

Any genuine job advertisement will give you an official email address to apply to. Beware of gmail and personal email accounts as most conmen use the same.

If the company’s main offices are in Upperhill and interviews are being held in Rongai, be very careful. It is common for companies to hold interviews in hotels. However, check the layout and establish the genuinness of the place. At the same time, if you are being interviewed in an office, check the office out for the normal items you’ll find in an office. It is your duty to do the due diligence and conduct some background check on the company just to be sure.

After successfully passing the interview, when you start to get requests to pay for ‘placement fees’, you are about to get conned. There is nothing like placement fees.

Sometimes, the offer itself on the advertisement is very suspicious. Different jobs attract different salaries depending on so many factors. For instance, if you see an advertisement for, let’s say, a HR Assistant position in a small company claiming that the starting salary is Kshs. 100,000, it’s time to activate your third eye. This is next to impossible.

Trust your gut feeling, it doesn’t lie. The problem is that even with a very clear gut feeling about a con job, we still go ahead and make the mistake because of desperation. If you feel within your heart that there is something wrong with that job, do not go for it because it is probably true. Desperation is no excuse for being dumb or out rightly (for lack of a better word), stupid.

I have always believed that one should not pay money in order to get a job. That’s corruption. People should be hired based on their competencies and capabilities. However, should you choose to ignore all the above signs and any others that you notice, you have only yourself to thank when you realize you have been conned.