How to Avoid Marketing and PR Job Scams on Craigslist

If you want to expand your search for marketing jobs, you may turn to Craigslist.org. Craigslist is a great service that connects job seekers with hiring companies. With a separate employment section just for marketing, advertising, and public relations jobs, you are likely to find many great job postings. Unfortunately, you are also likely to run into scams. How can you avoid them?

Be careful with work-at-home positions. What is nice about marketing and advertising is that many of your tasks can be performed at home, meaning you can work-at-home. However, scammers like to target home-based jobs and work from home opportunities. That doesn't mean you should avoid these jobs, but use your best judgment. Never fall victim to false promises. A good example is Google AdSense. This legitimate pay-per-click program has participants put links on their website.

Research the company in question. Rarely does a company post their name in a Craigslist job listing. Instead, they give you a small amount of information about the company, the job title, and duties performed. Although you may not know the company name right away, you should find it out soon. You should have a company name before attending a job interview. Take that name and perform a standard internet search. First, make sure the company really exists. Then, make sure there aren't any scams or trouble that surrounds them. You can also check scam alert websites, consumer reporting websites, and the website for the Better Business Bureau.

Speaking of job interviews, make sure you have one. Common goals of scammers are to get you to pay a training fee or hand over your personal information, like your bank account or social security number. A legitimate business that needs a public relations specialist, an advertising expert, or a marketing guru, won't hire without a job interview. If you are hired on the spot, just because of a resume or email you sent, it is likely a scam. You say you are an experienced internet marketer, but legitimate companies won't just take your word for it. In addition to scheduling a job interview, they will also ask to see samples of your work.

As you can see, it is relatively easy to avoid marketing, advertising, and PR job scams on Craigslist. So what are you waiting for? You now know how to avoid scams, meaning you know how to find legitimate job offers. Start your job search on Craigslist today!