Do a Google search on “craigslist killings,” and Google will show you over 100,000 search results. Yikes! And the most recent event in the USA appears to have been related to a job posting on craigslist which has apparently resulted in at least 3 deaths.
Human predators have existed for millions of years, and they have adapted well to the Internet. Like some people gifted with a talent for music or computers, people gifted with a predator’s ”talent” adapt to their environment and adopt the new tools available, modifying their approach to fit with the opportunities the new environment provides.
Right now a lot of people are job hunting, and that has attracted the human predators. The unemployed are sometimes desperate which can make them more vulnerable.
So, is craigslist unsafe for job search?
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No part of the Internet, or all human interaction for that matter, is completely “safe” from predators.
MANY predators use the Internet to sell their snake oil solutions for a wide variety of human problem from obesity and dating to investing and job search and much more. I bet every other job board and online classified ad site thanked their lucky stars it wasn’t their website involved in the recent murder investigation because it could have been almost any of them.
Craigslist is vulnerable because it is so inexpensive to use – free in most of its 700 world-wide locations. When you use the craigslist website, it is plastered with warnings for people using it:
- Craigslist “about safety“
- Craigslist “about scams“
And, on Job-Hunt, we’ve been warning people for years about the dangers associated with online job search:
- Job-Hunt’s “Finding a Job Using Craigslist“
- Job-Hunt’s “Guide to Avoiding Job Scams“
Why job seekers should not avoid craigslist for job search.
The reason that craigslist is vulnerable (the low cost) is also, of course, one of its strengths. Because of that low cost (free in most locations), many small and very small employers post their jobs on craigslist. Traditionally, small employers do more hiring than the large employers, so ignoring craigslist postings may not be the most effective job search strategy to adopt.
Why job seekers should be careful of every website.
Craigslist is well-known and well-documented. Not every “job board” is. New legitimate job boards appear every month. Scam job boards (and scam employers) appear constantly. If the job board or the “employer” website has no contact information easily available and wants job seekers to “register” or to “post a resume” before letting them see the jobs, do not use that website. It may be legitimate. And, it may not! See Job-Hunt’s Choosing a Job Board for more detailed information.
Bottom Line
No website on the Internet is “100% safe.” The smartest thing is to be skeptical of every job posting, every employer, and every job posting site. For job postings, verify that the employer is “real” by doing online research and asking the employer for verifiable contact information. Trust after you have verified that the job and the employer are real.
Please note.
Neither Job-Hunt.org, NETability, Inc. (owner of Job-Hunt), or Susan P. Joyce, author of this article, have any relationship with craigslist. Craigslist is not a Job-Hunt sponsor. Susan was not paid by craigslist to write this article. As with all of Susan’s articles, this article reflects her opinion, based on 16 years of experience studying, observing, and writing about the online job search world.
© Copyright, 2011, Susan P. Joyce. All rights reserved.
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About the author…
Online job search expert Susan P. Joyce has been observing the online job search world and teaching online job search skills since 1995. Susan is a two-time layoff “graduate” who has worked in human resources at Harvard University and in a compensation consulting firm. In 1998, her company, NETability, Inc. purchased Job-Hunt.org, and Susan has been editor and publisher of Job-Hunt since then. Follow Susan on Twitter at @jobhuntorg.
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