Bradford Marketing Manchester warns new graduates about career scams

July 13, 2010 - PRLog -- "Searching for a job can be the most stressful time in a young persons life, the last thing a new graduate needs is to have their time wasted by a scam artist.", says Jake Bradford, Managing Director of Bradford Marketing in Manchester. The latest is the career scam where scammers pose as companies attempting to trick people into parting with their money. Armed with 5 years of experience in the world of direct marketing, Mr. Bradford gives his advice to avoid falling victim to a career scam.

The problem is that its costing many people not only to waste their time and money but to also walk away from other good opportunities. There are many great opportunities available across the country that will provide you with success and business & personal development, the key is to find out which ones are good and which are scams. There are few key areas to look for before you turn away a good career or opportunity:

1. NEVER PAY MONEY FOR ANY CAREER?
Just call up before your interview or email and ask if you will have to invest any money, if you do then STAY WELL CLEAR.

2. DOES THE COMPANY HAVE REAL CUSTOMERS, CLIENTS or PRODUCTS?
If you call or email up front and there is no sign of any then STAY WELL CLEAR!

3. LOOK FOR CAREERS ON WELL KNOWN JOB SITES!
Look for your career on well known job boards where they protect their own brand by carefully vetting all their own clients before placing adds.

4. ALWAYS SEE FOR YOUR SELF!
There are many good opportunities out there, just that they are always going to be hard work. Most career scams are just good opportunities that require hard work and dedication. Most of the scam claims for careers come from people with no work ethic, education within the industry or dedication you should always see first hand before making a decision about YOUR career and not a complete strangers advice (whats good for one person may be bad for another). Some competitive companies may also spread career scam scares to prevent competition growth within the industry.

5. ATTEND OPEN DAYS WITH COMPANIES BEFORE COMMITING TO ANY THING.
An open day allows the applicant to demonstrate their full potential in a low pressure environment throughout the course of the day, and gives the company the best chance to make an accurate decision on their recruitment. This transparent recruitment process allows all applicants the chance to see exactly what their role within the company would be prior to having to make any commitments to the company.

At one time or another we have all considered a change in career, a completely different type of job or employment. Maybe youve wanted to become an inventor or try and make a living as a writer, for instance. Its possible, although the odds are against it, that you can make a living from either career. You can look into all types of jobs and training but one thing you need to be aware of are the number of career opportunity scams out there.

Its the kind of scam that preys on the idea that people might want to fulfil their dreams and better themselves. With over three million people a year in this country falling victim to scams, there are plenty of victims, and statistics show that the career opportunity scam seems to find more female victims than male (63% of women who had been scam victims had fallen for it) this scam is a very serious business.

How the Career Opportunity Scam Works
The scam is an ad. It might offer that business opportunity, self-employment that lets you work your own hours and earn a high income it could be a franchise or as a representative or associate of a company with an exclusive territory. Or it could be a company offering to market your invention or publish your book. Whatever the offer, the ads all have one thing in common, although you wont know it until you find out more they all require cash up front. Thats cash youll never see again, and the opportunities, if they even exist, will all come to nothing but cost something.

How To Avoid The Career Opportunity Scam
The simplest way to avoid the career opportunity scam and many scams, for that matter is to simply not believe what you read. What they offer is a variation on the advance fee fraud. Before you part with any money, you need to know a lot more about the company. Do they have a landline? Is there a street address? Is it a limited company? Do they have satisfied customers/client? If not, STAY WELL CLEAR .

The more questions you ask, the more you`ll know and a real scam will be revealed very quickly. Simply call or email even go to the interview and ask questions, the main question is how much will it cost you? If they ask for any money stand well clear. Ask advice of people you know and trust before committing to any job where you have to pay for something a franchise or materials upfront. That advice might not always be perfect, but it should stop you acting rashly. Dont agree to become a associate, or whatever term they use, if it costs you money. Be wary! Look into opportunities yourself as many people will call anything thats hard work a scam, most blogs are posted by people who refuse to work hard and this may just be the reason its a scam to them. Still go by the two rules 1.Never pay, 2. Do they have a customer base, client or product?

If there are promises of how much money you can make from what amounts to a few hours work a week, dont believe a word until its proven. You only get paid big money for working hard. Being a doubting Thomas can only be a good thing when it comes to parting with your money it can save you a lot of grief and financial pain later on from the scams. Never part with your money!

What To Do If Youre A Victim of a Career Opportunity Scam!
If youve parted with your money for a scam and received nothing useful in return, the chances of you seeing your cash again are slim. Those behind the scam will have handily disappeared, or at least youll have no way to get hold of them. You can inform the Office of Fair Trading, Consumer Direct and the police. Theyll help, where possible, but all too often the trail will stop dead.

For more info email admin@bradfordmktg.co.uk

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Bradford Marketing is a Marketing and Sales company based in Manchester City Centre Our main objective is to increase market share and awareness for our national clients.