Does this seem right (or $175 for a job)?

[CrownPrinceBandar]

I am currently looking for a job, and some of my perusals have been here, in Morgantown, WV. I the Sunday edition of our local rag, the Dominion-Post, there were about 100 listings for jobs. The majority were either highly specialized, but some of the less specialized jobs looked like this:

*snip

"BANKING MANAGER ENTRY LEVEL $25K to start plus benefits. Need person with office management experience or banking experience to manage daily operational functions for various benefits. (name of the company deleted) One Time $175 fee."


Look at the last sentence:

"(name of company deleted) One Time $175 fee."

$175?! How is an unemployed person supposed to come up with 175 bucks to pay the fee? Talk about profiting from the misery of others.

When I called these guys to ask them why they charged $175 dollars, they told me that I would be "applying for their service." Their service consists of job finders who "go out and aggressively hunt for the best jobs for their clients." I the asked the person if I couldn't find a job, do I get my money back? He said "no, you aren't buying a job."

I then related to the man that their service was like that commercial with the guru talking about "getting a job without experience, but get experience without a job", only now its "How can you get a job for 175 bucks, but get 175 bucks without a job?"

The person then told me that they don't target the unemployed who are just "laying back" and not trying to "improve themselves", they mainly target those who are already employed and looking to change careers.

I said OK, but then pointed out that alot of the jobs they were advertising were entry level positions whose pay was better than fast food (used as an example), but still not stunning. The person said that those are the kind of jobs their service seeks out, and that they take over most of the pages they advertise on.

"So, you pretty much have a corner on the (non -specialized) job market around here?" I said. The person whole-heartedly agreed.

Another nail in the coffin of America's poor.

Is this happening anywhere else, because this is the first I have seen of it?

[CrownPrinceBandar]

1. Damn... killed my own thread. That's bad.

[Philostopher]

2. No, it doesn't seem right.

Yes, I have heard of it -- though it used to happen farther up the 'food chain.' Tech jobs were like that just about everywhere, several years ago. Either you got your job through a tech headhunting/contracting agency, or you paid the headhunters and they found you a job.

Sad to see it's leaking down into the $25K a year categories, though. You're right -- when it's a $100K a year job, paying to get it doesn't seem nearly so malicious. Making somebody who's probably unemployed, and who's only going to gross $25K a year if s/he gets the job pay just to get it is sadistic.

[radwriter0555]

7. I predicted 5 years ago that IT jobs would go the way of fast food

jobs.

The pay is dropping as the market gets filled with capable workers.

[BigMcLargehuge]

3. I've seen similar stuff here in NH

though it's usually through companies that advertise as having unpublished leads and make their ads look like those of the common temp or headhunter... When you get there they want you to spend several thousands dollars in bullshit classes about making cold calls for unpublished positions and resume writing workshops.

I "interviewed" with these idiots once. When he showed me the "uber-resume" example and asked me what I thought I answered "I could make one of those in about two minutes.... But I wouldn't because the format sucks."

He asked me to leave... LOL

Still, I must have passed at least fifty people shuffling from meeting room to meeting room paying huge dollars for BASIC resume writing skills. Very frustrating and sad.

[liberalhistorian]

4. This is a scam,

a newer version of a very old employment scam which always surfaces in some form or another in desperate economic times. DO NOT have anything to do with it! They will take your money and DO NOTHING! Most legitimate employment agencies do NOT charge you anything, and run like hell from one that does.

[radwriter0555]

5. This job doesn't exist.

It's to get you in there, and for them to be able to shop to their prospective clients, YOUR skills as an example of why to hire them to find you.

Get it?

Run.

Fast.

[SoCalDem]

6. Don't pay to get a job.. (I used to work for a pay-to-work agency)

Most are scams.. There are very few jobs in the "real world" who would even NEED to go through agencies.. They have more applicants than they have jobs, and really do not need to search for applicants..

With downsizinig, lots of positions never even get advertised.. They are quietly filled from within..

Your best bet is to network.. Tell everyone you know that you are looking to change jobs..

The agencies will tell you .."The company usually pays the fee, so don't worry".. only that RARELY happens.. and then you are stuck with the fee..

[Parrcrow]

8. Its a scam

They charge you to pass your resume on to the employer. Along with everyone else who responds.
I use to see these things quite alot until my local paper stopped running those ads. Ignore them.

[Robb]

9. There's a saying in writing

...that the money should always flow towards the writer. Anything you have to pay for out-of-pocket is a sign of the unscrupulous preying on the increasingly desperate.

Yeah, run, don't walk.

[CrownPrinceBandar]

10. This is what I thought....

it seems silly to pay for the right to cover your bills.

Living in WV, I sometimes feel a bit cut off from whats happening in the larger world. I didn't want to make a stink until I heard what is going on in other parts of the country.