There’s a lot of good information out there for job hunters and people who want to advance in their careers. But there’s also a lot of crap.

I don’t mind either kind if it comes from an honest place. By honest I mean the career source providing the information is doing it because they want to inform you and not because a company pays them money to promote a certain product or service.

Recently, I’ve noticed a growing number of so-called career experts who are actually paid spokespeople. These experts are touting the companies that pay them in blogs, and as sources in news stories for major publications, but not readily disclosing who’s bankrolling them. I’m telling you this because it’s always a good idea to think about what might be motivating the advice you hear.

Beware the bull! (more…)

“It’s one of the most sophisticated job scams I’ve seen lately,” said Susan Joyce, editor and publisher of Job-Hunt.org.

And Christine C. Durst, Co-Founder of RatRaceRebellion.com and a home-based career and Internet fraud & safety expert, has been getting queries from readers about the same swindle as recently as last week.

A job offer that seems to good to be true but this time it’s connected to the website of what appears to be a legitimate company. The name, the flashy graphics, the photographs, they all look real. But they’re not. It’s “corporate identity theft,” proclaims Joyce, and you better not let it nab you. (more…)

Career experts will tell you to go out and invest in a nice suit before you go out on an interview. The thinking is you should look well-off so a hiring manager doesn’t think you’re desperate for the job.

Well, I’m here to tell you that you should NOT look too good or too rich, especially you gals out there.

Just yesterday a hiring manager told me she did not hire an administrative assistant because of the big diamond ring on her finger. (more…)

Every time I write about job scams, there are always a bunch of people who get on their high horses: “What morons,” they say. “How could a smart person fall for such a scam?”

This pompous attitude is why we have such a hard time eradicating scams in this country. Everyone is just too smart to be duped. If no one can be duped, then there’s no problem, right?

Well, lots of smart people are flimflammed everyday, and often it’s because they’re desperate — desperate to find work, to keep a roof over their heads, to get food on the table for their kids. Don’t think you’re any better than they are, because you’re not.

Let’s take Christy Geisler, who had worked in the entertainment industry as a talent coordinator. She was unemployed for six months last year and was getting desperate. (more…)