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Last week, Business Insider posted this piece on The Rise Of The “Bait-And-Switch” Job Interview.
Tldr - People paying other people to do their job interviews. The person who shows up for work is not the person who did the Zooms.
Had I heard this a few months back, my first reaction would have been “naw, they’re reaching for a story.”
But a few weeks ago, we did have a client tell us this happened to them recently. (Before you ask, no, not someone we represented. And they caught it before the start.) And another mention they had people outside the US spoof phone numbers to interview for jobs here.
Now, if you click through that Twitter link, you’ll notice a few things:
1. Some people side with the scammers. e.g. ‘A lot of companies might have an easier time if they'd knock it off with the "need fifteen years of experience and be willing to work minimum wage with no benefits" crap. No sympathy for the companies from me, here.”’
2. Some recruiters don’t believe it. e.g. ‘As a tech recruiter with 50k plus LinkedIn connections, this is not a thing LOL’
I think it’s human nature to be amused by clever cons. It’s why caper movies are so popular. We’re not supposed to root for the Ocean’s 11 team, but we do!
But this ain’t the movies. There are real life consequences.
Financial companies can’t hire fake cybersecurity people.
Hospitals can’t hire fake lab techs.
And no one can hire someone who will misrepresent themselves to your clients or scam their way into accessing your data.
Does it happen? Yes.
Is it widespread? No.
Could it be disastrous if it happens to you? Absolutely.
Stay safe out there.
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