Deceptive Employer Practice

[BeaTlesFan77]

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/fake-job-listing-ghost-jobs-cbs-news-explains

[Batya33]

How awful.  There are always bad apples in any business.  Separately and years ago my friend was basically scammed -she applied for a writing/editing job (yes she had a lot of experience!) online and after a number of interviews and meeting with other writers she was "hired" but then it became clear that it was a bait and switch -she was supposed to find the authors herself etc.

Also of course a number of people I know have been taken in by the MLM companies which may not be full blown Ponzi but might as well be on a practical level -friends who make maybe pocket money but basically work to recruit others and pay their own way for "conventions".

It's sad for the employers who are ethical/above board.

[ShySoul]

That's horrible. Another reason I don't trust companies, you never know what scheme they might be upto behind the scenes. Also another reason to not discouraged if you don't hear back from a company. There may never have been a job in the first place.

Actually, I think my company wishes they could do that. With the turnover they have had in the last year, think they are just happy to fill the roles they need and wouldn't have the time to be doing fake interviews as well. 😄

Thanks for letting us know. I'll have to remember that next time I'm looking.

 

[BeaTlesFan77]

On 7/4/2024 at 4:13 AM, Batya33 said:

How awful.  There are always bad apples in any business.  Separately and years ago my friend was basically scammed -she applied for a writing/editing job (yes she had a lot of experience!) online and after a number of interviews and meeting with other writers she was "hired" but then it became clear that it was a bait and switch -she was supposed to find the authors herself etc.

Also of course a number of people I know have been taken in by the MLM companies which may not be full blown Ponzi but might as well be on a practical level -friends who make maybe pocket money but basically work to recruit others and pay their own way for "conventions".

It's sad for the employers who are ethical/above board.

Agreed I wasn’t too happy when I read that article. It’s bad enough just trying to find a job.  This just makes it worse. I’ve also had my share of individuals who reached out to me to get involved in a pyramid or Ponzi scheme of some kind. Irks me when people use others and take advantage of them as a means to an end.  

[BeaTlesFan77]

On 7/4/2024 at 9:04 PM, ShySoul said:

That's horrible. Another reason I don't trust companies, you never know what scheme they might be upto behind the scenes. Also another reason to not discouraged if you don't hear back from a company. There may never have been a job in the first place.

Actually, I think my company wishes they could do that. With the turnover they have had in the last year, think they are just happy to fill the roles they need and wouldn't have the time to be doing fake interviews as well. 😄

Thanks for letting us know. I'll have to remember that next time I'm looking.

 

You’re welcome.  Your comment about not trusting companies reminded me of the last virtual meeting I attended with my last employer.  They told us it was a great time to be with the company and that they were winning contracts creating opportunity.  When in reality, there wasn’t much work to go around and people like me were getting released.

Just recently I almost applied for a position for something that looked fishy after I did more digging. The company didn’t even have a formal website.  Instead, the only link it had took you right to a website where they asked you to submit a credit report. At first glance, the position looked really good.  Fully remote position doing data entry getting paid $30-$40 an hour. So not only do you have to apply for jobs, but you also have to be vigilant about not falling for scams.  So not only do you have to apply for jobs, but you also have to be vigilant about not falling for scams.

[DarkCh0c0]

18 minutes ago, BeaTlesFan77 said:

Your comment about not trusting companies reminded me of the last virtual meeting I attended with my last employer.  They told us it was a great time to be with the company and that they were winning contracts creating opportunity.  When in reality, there wasn’t much work to go around and people like me were getting released.

My last employer (a tech startup) did this too to keep face and keep employees from leaving. It's f*ed up. 

I also am familiar how some famous companies post job openings just to look like they are doing great business-wise. What a waste of people's time.

Then you have big tech companies make hiring rounds and laying off most of the hired people in the next quarter. Truly disingenuous and disrespectful.

[Batya33]

3 hours ago, DarkCh0c0 said:

My last employer (a tech startup) did this too to keep face and keep employees from leaving. It's f*ed up. 

I also am familiar how some famous companies post job openings just to look like they are doing great business-wise. What a waste of people's time.

Then you have big tech companies make hiring rounds and laying off most of the hired people in the next quarter. Truly disingenuous and disrespectful.

Just an old school anecdote Beatlesfan

In the late 80s I was waitlisted for an internship I really wanted.  So I looked for other summer employment and even had to take a lie detector test for one company -back then this was still allowed -what an awful experience. (yes I passed)

But I answered an ad to be a dental hygienist. I arrived. School was not quite over yet so I guess I brought maybe some homework? He had an appointment book.  He explained that the appointments written in ink were real and the ones written in pencil were - fake -because if a patient came in and I had to look in the book he wanted to look busy even though he was not.

I was told not to come back after that first day- apparently as a hygienist I was supposed to clean and vacuum his office when not busy -which he wasn't.  I was doing my homework. I did not wish to be a maid.  And he never paid me.  (I believe back then it was probably less than $10/hour?).  My first experience with a nefarious employer lol. ( iended up getting the internship at the last minute)

But in the mid 90s I volunteered to help struggling high school students.  I was assigned to a female student who had emigrated I believe from another country.  Someone from her country hired her to -sell vacuums door to door with the promise of a huge commission.  She needed the money so badly. He was a con artist.  She worked so hard for a week and she sold some -and he gave her -nothing -with a lame excuse. I was so so mad.  I called the corporate manufacturer and was given the runaround. I called the state agency - and was told what she'd have to do.  Then I called him and gave him a piece of my mind -told him I was her mentor, that what he'd done was abhorrent - especially since he was from the same country.  Told him I'd contacted a state agency and the company.  

He went to her house shortly after and paid her all she was owed and of course she didn't work for him more. We need the village, we need to have each other's back -not because all companies are evil - but because this job search thing is no joke and to me it helps a lot if we help each other -refer your friends to openings that might be right for them, refrain from pressuring anyone to do some's sort of MLM - tell your friend if you hear bad things about a company or MLM.  Reach out to your network and then pay it forward.

[Starlight925]

Yes, it's very true that companies use job sites to list fake job ads, as a method of increasing brand awareness, a sort of low-cost advertising.

I worked for a Fortune 100 company, and we had to list every job publicly for at least 5 days, even if it was already filled from either an Inside person or someone that the hiring manager already knew that they wanted.  We'd get hundreds, thousands of resumes for jobs that had already been filled.

That company still does that today.

In fact, the way the jobs are mostly filled is by the hiring manager asking co-workers and teammates for recommendations, getting their resumes, and interviewing only those candidates, then making a decision.  THEN, the job is publicly posted for 5 days.  After the 5-day period is up, the original candidate gets the official offer.  

It's unsettling and unfortunate.

The best companies I've worked for have been smaller, private companies that don't do this sort of practice, as they are truly looking for talent, so increase your searches to include private companies.

[ShySoul]

10 hours ago, BeaTlesFan77 said:

They told us it was a great time to be with the company and that they were winning contracts creating opportunity.  When in reality, there wasn’t much work to go around and people like me were getting released.

Well, what were they going to say? That they have no opportunities and that some of you likely won't be around for the next meeting? You don't want to ruin morale, but you shouldn't be flat out lying. So it ends up being the same generic pep talk. I tend to tune out meetings like that and watch what's actually going on - people leaving, how much new work is coming in, etc.

I was at a company thought got sold to new management. We were made to attend a huge meeting and told they didn't want to disrupt anything and there would be no layoffs. Within months I was laid off along with half the employees at headquarters. I later found out they closed the entire office and moved operations to their headquarters in Minnesota.

Keep it up. You'll find something amidst all the crazy scams.

2 hours ago, Starlight925 said:

The best companies I've worked for have been smaller, private companies that don't do this sort of practice, as they are truly looking for talent, so increase your searches to include private companies

There's a trade off. Smaller companies do tend to invest in people more. But they can also be less stable then big names. Find the place that's the right fit for you

[BeaTlesFan77]

17 minutes ago, ShySoul said:

Well, what were they going to say? That they have no opportunities and that some of you likely won't be around for the next meeting? You don't want to ruin morale, but you shouldn't be flat out lying. So it ends up being the same generic pep talk. I tend to tune out meetings like that and watch what's actually going on - people leaving, how much new work is coming in, etc.

I was at a company thought got sold to new management. We were made to attend a huge meeting and told they didn't want to disrupt anything and there would be no layoffs. Within months I was laid off along with half the employees at headquarters. I later found out they closed the entire office and moved operations to their headquarters in Minnesota.

Keep it up. You'll find something amidst all the crazy scams.

There's a trade off. Smaller companies do tend to invest in people more. But they can also be less stable then big names. Find the place that's the right fit for you

Yes, all of this is true. It just sucks being lied to that’s all.    

[Kwothe28]

10 hours ago, DarkCh0c0 said:

My last employer (a tech startup) did this too to keep face and keep employees from leaving. It's f*ed up. 

 

Is it true they hold "pizza party" for record profits or just to boost moral? I mean I love pizza but I am sure more money can buy me plenty of those lol

Anyway, fake ads are sadly a standard in a freelance world. They say you need to do X when you apply for a job but change your duties when you discuss it more on closer interviews or even when they hire you. 

[DarkCh0c0]

29 minutes ago, Kwothe28 said:

Is it true they hold "pizza party" for record profits or just to boost moral? I mean I love pizza but I am sure more money can buy me plenty of those lol

To "boost morale". Correct.

I am sick of those "employee socials". And I prepped all of them... 

They think socials build morale and "team spirit" when the truth is the day to day reality for us is like a hamster multi-tasking on different devices and beeing chased by deadlines + managers whilst running on the wheel. The CEO only liked to see everyone burning work through they keyboards. Wanna laugh when the CEO is here? You better keep him informed of the joke or he'll be pissed.

Eat that pizza, smile, and get to work 🍕🍕

Most tech startups can create quite  tense work environments and poor life balance that pizza can't fix. Nor free & fresh orange juice... Nor snack bars... Nor that trip to Barcelona...

[ShySoul]

I'd be a lot happier if they took the money spent on socials and used it to hire people who were actually competent and could do their job so that I didn't have to consistently be following up on everything and correcting other people's mistakes. 

I'm dreading our yearly mandatory employee apprication day in a week and a half. Between a department meeting in the morning, lunch, and games after, there goes an entire day I could have actually got work done...

55 minutes ago, BeaTlesFan77 said:

Yes, all of this is true. It just sucks being lied to that’s all.

Yep. Really sucks.

[BeaTlesFan77]

34 minutes ago, DarkCh0c0 said:

To "boost morale". Correct.

I am sick of those "employee socials". And I prepped all of them... 

They think socials build morale and "team spirit" when the truth is the day to day reality for us is like a hamster multi-tasking on different devices and beeing chased by deadlines + managers whilst running on the wheel. The CEO only liked to see everyone burning work through they keyboards. Wanna laugh when the CEO is here? You better keep him informed of the joke or he'll be pissed.

Eat that pizza, smile, and get to work 🍕🍕

Most tech startups can create quite  tense work environments and poor life balance that pizza can't fix. Nor free & fresh orange juice... Nor snack bars... Nor that trip to Barcelona...

I remember working on one of my contracts right before Covid.  The lunchroom had huge containers filled with Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Pepperidge Farm fish, trail mix, and some other cereal I can't recall.  Just grab a foam bowl and lift up the lever to fill.  They also had milk and sodas in the fridge along with bagels and english muffins on the counter.  Then other miscellaneous snacks like those 'energy bars'.  We didn't get paid well, but they fed and watered us greatly. 

[Batya33]

2 hours ago, BeaTlesFan77 said:

I remember working on one of my contracts right before Covid.  The lunchroom had huge containers filled with Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Pepperidge Farm fish, trail mix, and some other cereal I can't recall.  Just grab a foam bowl and lift up the lever to fill.  They also had milk and sodas in the fridge along with bagels and english muffins on the counter.  Then other miscellaneous snacks like those 'energy bars'.  We didn't get paid well, but they fed and watered us greatly. 

Yes the snacks lol.  When I worked more than full time we could order dinner or get it at the cafeteria after a certain hour -no teleworking back then. 

[ShySoul]

2 hours ago, BeaTlesFan77 said:

Then other miscellaneous snacks like those 'energy bars'.  We didn't get paid well, but they fed and watered us greatly. 

The company provided the snacks? For me it's always been the team that brings in their own snacks and drinks for everyone. Which hasn't helped me. Don't drink so the alcohol (during work hours?!) was useless. And if I ate all the candy and sweets that get brought in, I'm sure my teeth would have fallen out by now.

[BeaTlesFan77]

2 minutes ago, ShySoul said:

The company provided the snacks? For me it's always been the team that brings in their own snacks and drinks for everyone. Which hasn't helped me. Don't drink so the alcohol (during work hours?!) was useless. And if I ate all the candy and sweets that get brought in, I'm sure my teeth would have fallen out by now.

Yes, they did.  They had a third party that would deliver refills of everything.