babysunshine Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 Ok, a little background because this process has all been a tiny bit shady. I came accross an ad for an assistant to an Ambassador of an African country for the United Nations. Everything sounded good and my skills matched what they were looking for. I speak multiple languages, and even spent months in Africa this year. So.. I emailed my resume and cover letter. A couple days letter I missed a phone call but the person left no voice mail. They "texted" me to "call back regarding the position of assistant to ambassador" To me, that is strange. Usually a potential employer calling would leave a voice mail correct?? Anyways, so I called back and spoke to a gentleman who introduced himself as the Ambassador himself. (2nd red flag, wouldnt the Ambassador have someone to make these calls for him, and again, why did he text me??!!) needless to say, I was a little skeptical but still continued the discussion about the job details, salary history... etc) He told me he had many applicants and would get back to me. A couple days after that, I called him to follow up and we spoke more about the job until he mentioned I seemed a little angry ont he first phone interview I explained to him that I was not angry just a little weary. He said that he did have people who did hiring for him but he wanted to be more hands on and choose his own assistants. (kind of makes sense...) My roomate also mentioned that it could be cultural differences. For example here in the United States your potential employer wouldnt be texting you or asking for a picture on the resume, whereas abroad it is more common to ask for pictures on a CV. Because I am so skeptical, i googled his name and even went on youtube to see some of the speeches he had done as Ambassdor so i could compare that voice to the one on the telephone. it matched. So today, he calls and asks if I am available for an interview. He gives me the address and i go to google to make sure it is the sameone as the address for the United Nations here in my city, and it is. Ok so.... I guess Im asking for advice on the actual interview and for someone to tell me I am not crazy for thinking this whole thing could have been a scam????? Im still a little weary but Im going anyways. Thanks for reading sorry this was so long!! Link to comment
sophie274 Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 Where did you see the ad? Link to comment
babysunshine Posted January 21, 2011 Author Share Posted January 21, 2011 Craigslist..... makes it even more shady huh? Link to comment
Jd1983 Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 I would be a little wary as well. Hopefully it isn't a scam.. If it isn't, good luck & hope everything works out. Link to comment
babysunshine Posted January 21, 2011 Author Share Posted January 21, 2011 At this point I feel like the worst that can happen is I get to the UN building and he's not there... but I guess Im also accustomed to how things work a little bit differently abroad and the things we think are "common sense" to us just don't really apply in other cultures. If he would have been like "let's meet at a coffee shop" I never would have considered going. But, since it's at the actual UN and his suite number matches theone on the website I'm gonna give it a chance. Link to comment
Guest Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 Hopefully it isn't a scam. But they exist. The U.N. has warnings all about them. So do her specialized organizations. This is generalized, but there are three ways to get into the U.N.--i.e. the main UN bodies, like the Secretariat: 1) Being highly qualified, multiple years of experience, for a P-level post and higher; 2) An entrance exam, e.g. the NCRE for entry-level posts; 3) local recruitment for G level and support posts. Some of this might not be spot on, as I am working purely from memory. Nevertheless, I believe it is sufficient as a general primer. I am going through the NCRE process and I am waiting for the December 2010 exam results, which explains why I have looked these things up. These three routes into the U.N. pass through the U.N.'s own proprietary job database. Galaxy, I think the current one is called. You can see, now, why it's a little iffy that the position you found was on Craigslist. That being said, though, what you said was that it was a position for an Ambassador to the U.N. Reading that literally, you'd be working for the Ambassador, who wouldn't necessarily have his own staff provided by the U.N. It is possible he would be hiring them through his own methods, separate from the U.N.'s system. Long story short: There are job scams, particularly for jobs with the U.N. The own position you mentioned may not be a scam. But, you should do a more thorough check before you go through. That, or, wait until they tell you, "well, you need to pay us X dollars to finalize your application," or some other red flag highlighting it as a bonafide scam. Link to comment
babysunshine Posted January 21, 2011 Author Share Posted January 21, 2011 Polity, I applied on galaxy too, and saw the part where the UN warns people of potential scams. Most of those scams are people trying to commit money fraud or identity theft and associate themselves with the UN to lure people in. Thank goodness, with him, No mention of money/social security number/credit check has been made. I agree with you that I would be working for him not for the UN directly. And he did make it clear that he is hiring his assistants and staff members and while we do have badges that allow us to work at the UN building, we are not working for the UN directly..... Link to comment
sophie274 Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 Honestly, with the craigslist add and the texting ... it does sound a bit sketchy to me. I understand what you're saying about cultural differences, and if it's from a "low-profile" or poor country he might not have the staff or resources or draw to hire through more official channels or restrict hiring to more official websites, etc. I guess, if it were me, since the address he gave you is at the UN building, I would go to the suite, but be very guarded about giving out ANY kind of personal information. Does that suite have an office phone number that you could call to see who answers? (you can say you were calling to confirm the time or something). Link to comment
babysunshine Posted January 21, 2011 Author Share Posted January 21, 2011 Yes on their official website it has the address and the phone number (It's a link removed official site) I would feel a little ridiculous calling to confirm an interview that we set up today though! Link to comment
Guest Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 I would go with what Sophie says, honestly. No reason feeling silly about confirming the meeting, even if you did make the arrangement today. Or, you can call asking to see if you should bring anything, like references or a writing sample, or something like that. But if they are telling you to go to the U.N. building itself, then, meh, seems like it would be O.K. I mean, they are swimming in a sea of security down there. Edit: Almost forgot. Good luck with the interview! Link to comment
HeartGoesOn Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 I may be wrong, but it seems like a well designed scam. Trust your intuition with this. Link to comment
SongCoyote Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 If you had found anything dubious in your research I would be much more wary of this situation, but it sounds like you found good corroboration that the person you're talking to is the real deal. The fact that you'll actually meet at the UN building is a big plus; just be wary if they greet you there, then suggest that you conduct the interview a short drive away or something like that. And of course, don't offer your SSN or anything until you're more confident about the situation. Keep your mind open and your wits about you, and good luck! Light and laughter, SongCoyote Link to comment
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