Bah Humbug! Beware of Scammers Preying on Unemployed This Holiday Season

I love gift wrapping. My dad is a bit of a freak about it and I think I followed in his footsteps. So imagine my excitement when I received an email from Best Buy telling me about a gift wrapping job opportunity available during the holiday season. Look, I’m unemployed…any opportunity involving something I like even a little bit excites me!

This email didn’t go into my spam box, but I wasn’t foolish enough to think “Richard Miller” was reaching out to me and only me. I am sure “Director of Communications” didn’t scream gift wrapper when he poached my email from some career website database. But I didn’t let it bring me down. It was the holidays and this seemed like a cool way to make some extra cash and kill some free time, so I emailed him back for some more info. “A new Best Buy just opened up in Jersey City,” I thought to myself. I know so many unemployed people, maybe we can do this together and make a thing of it!

How many of you are laughing at me right now? Don’t feel bad, because I’m laughing at myself as I write this. The email fails to send ( he had a Best Buy domain – I’m not that bad!), so I call the number Richard provided for me in his correspondence. I’m directly connected to “Welcome to HR department” and some elevator music. No Best Buy, not even the HR department, just HR Department. Now my senses are peaked. Could this be a scam?

I waited on hold for maybe 3 minutes. “Everyone probably got this email all at once,” I’m thinking. “The lines are bum-rushed.”

Finally, I throw in the towel, accepting defeat, realizing there is no Richard Miller, no Best Buy gift wrapping holiday temp job, just gullible me.

What I didn’t understand was what kind of scam this could be. Did they want to get my social security number or other personal information if I filled out a job application? Rob or carjack me when I showed up somewhere to wrap all these gifts? No, not even close. When I did a little research, I found out that this was a “wrap from home scheme.” What these people do is send you stolen merchandise and pay to have it shipped across the globe, then disappear and never pay you.

Usually I am smarter than this. Maybe I should lay off the egg nog! Happy holidays!

The Poorly Written “Form Letter Thank You” From Potential Employers

I am not a huge fan of form letters. Maybe it’s because I am a communications person, but I appreciate the personal touch of being thanked or recognized for something. Otherwise, I almost don’t want to be noticed at all.

I’m not talking about thank yous from friends or family. That ship has sailed. I’m talking about the form letter job seekers get from potential employers when they apply for a job or actually make it through the interview process, either through email or actual snail mail. Can you believe that, some of us actual get rejection letters and thank yous for applying via the U.S. Mail? Now I think that’s a nice touch, even if you are rejecting me.

I don’t mind the automated email informing me that Employer A has received my resume,  my background and qualifications are being evaluated and if I am suitable match or fit, that I will be contacted. What I do mind, is when Employer B sends me the thank you for interviewing with our company email, “It was pleasure meeting you and you were an outstanding candidate, but we have chosen to move in another direction. We will keep your resume on file for one year in the event your skills match another role in our organization.”

Really, you’re going to contact me when my experience matches another job in your company? Has any company ever done that for you? Similar positions open up all the time at companies you and I have applied to, maybe even interviewed at already, but no one ever gets that call saying, “Hey, Jane, this position opened up and it has your name written all over it!”

Maybe it’s some human resources law that says these companies need to send these types of correspondences to folks. And I understand, I really do, and I am not trying to sound bitter, I just think there is a less fake approach, shall we say, to go about this. Tell job seekers to keep looking, not that you’ll find a match for them; we know you’re not going to reach out to us if some keyword matches something on our resume with a job at your company; you must have a million resumes on file! Don’t sell us that short, please!

And while we’re on the topic of selling us short, take a look at the email below which I received this summer from an organization I applied to telling me I was not the chosen candidate. Not only was it not personally addressed (undisclosed recipients!), it left the “insert position here” empty and in plain sight for me to see!! So HR professionals, CEOs, hiring managers, whoever sends these emails and letters to those on the job hunt, please take note, have a bit of compassion or don’t send anything at all. Sometimes no news better than any news at all!

To: undisclosed-recipients

Thank you for the opportunity to interview you for the $(customtext1} position. It was a pleasure meeting you.

Although your credentials and work experience are most impressive, another candidate whose qualifications more closely meet our needs has been selected.

Your interest in this position is appreciated.