6 Signs the Job Posting You're Looking at Is a Scam

It is peak spring interviewing season and you are looking for a job. You're feeling the pressure and job applications are your only full-time job. You are writing your cover letters and checking all of the boxes, but that Easy Apply button has become very tempting.

Beware! You may come across the all-too-common MLM job posting. How do you know if it is a scam, just a poorly written description or maybe just too good to be true? I will tell you, unfortunately and embarrassingly, from personal experience.

1. It is SUPER easy to apply

This job posting, whether on Indeed, ZipRecruiter, LinkedIn Easy Apply, etc. makes it really, for lack of better wording, easy to apply. Applying is so easy, that you may not even need an actual resume. Now, there are plenty of legitimate companies that do this for the sake of sifting through the volume of candidates. However, these companies also give you options to add cover letter and links to stand out in your application. If you don't see these options, congratulations! You have encountered Red Flag #1.

2. They are not looking for experience

From the job title to the italicized disclaimers in the description, you see the words "entry level" all over it and sometimes in ALL CAPS.

3. They have a lot of openings...all of the time

They are hiring social media representatives, brand managers, event planners, entry-level marketers...the works! This is a red flag in general on the job hunt meaning high turnover, but when a company is hiring across the board all of the time, there is a high volume and sketchy recruiting strategy at work.

4. Glassdoor reviews

The reviews either don't exist...or they are just plain nasty like this one for local Austin, TX MLM company, Dover Solutions. Always heed the warnings, especially if there are a lot of them and they are recent.

5. The interview process is quick and business formal

You get a call/email within the same day of applying asking you to come in for an interview this week! Wow! They don't even want to do a phone screening first?

Precisely. When you get to the office in your nice suit that you may have dropped a pretty penny on, you will typically be interviewing in groups and pitted against other candidates, which is not normal or comfortable in the slightest. You will more than likely make it to their next round and they will ask you to wait around for a few hours for a follow up interview or shadow an employee (AKA do door-to-door sales or marketing a product at Sam's Club for 7 hours).

6. There's no history

Their website is very generic and vague and from what information you can scrounge, the company is very young. Looking at the employees Linkedin profiles will also give you a good idea of how vague this company can be.

Happy job hunting!

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