Spoof Jobs

[gdproy]

What is the general consensus on spoof jobs, or suspected spoof jobs seen on the boards ?

I have now seen the exact same very attractive job-spec appear for the 3rd time in as many months, word-for-word the exact same description each time. I'm convinced I am a perfect fit, and I guess there are 300 others suspecting the same thing. No matter how I try to contact the agent (email, phoning, linkedin, etc), the specific person will not acknowledge my existence.

The agency seems reputable, and I cannot believe that the client would tolerate them not finding suitable candidates in 2 months of looking. The job spec is kind-of vague (no industry, no specific list of deliverables or requirements) and very tasty (long term, located in one of many UK sites).

So I am suspicious.

Should I :

- just accept it, that's life. (the older and grumpier I get the less easy I find this.)
- be more persistent to talk to the agent. (I am already quite close to bunny-boiler status)
- report it to a some or other higher authority. (is there such a thing?)
- post it on a 'suspected spoof jobs' forum. (is there such a thing?)


Any thoughts ?

[Gentile]

Richard Gibson of Noir Consulting, by any chance?

[Zippy]

I think you have to accept that it's a fishing trip. Move along...

[Wanderer]

What is the general consensus on spoof jobs, or suspected spoof jobs seen on the boards ?

They have been doing it for years. Sometimes they don't want to advertise the specific vacancy that they have for fear of other agents getting wind of it so they put out a generic advertisement to get some candidates in. A lot of contracts I've done have not been advertised or I've applied for one which was "gone" only to have an agent quietly offer to put me forward for an unadvertised one. Get a throw away email address and a pre-pay sim for your mobile then fire your CV off to every job that looks interesting. When you land a contract, ditch the sim and the email address.

See also the two references sticky...

[dogzilla]

This is why I've stopped applying for jobs. Last 4 jobs have come through based on keyword searches by the agent. i.e. They found me.

It's a mugs game applying if you ask me, I've had very few callbacks when I've applied myself. It's pretty down heartening too to apply to loads without a single bite. Instead I just update my CV and make sure it's uploaded everywhere. It's the agents job to find the candidates and the good ones do. Also I have a tip for you all, login to your job site accounts. Agents will search from a pool of active people and you won't come up if you've not logged in for weeks.

[jmo21]

Also I have a tip for you all, login to your job site accounts. Agents will search from a pool of active people and you won't come up if you've not logged in for weeks.

In a similar fashion, the more well known tip mentioned on here is to refresh your CV upload every day on the job sites to keep it near the top of the list.

[psychocandy]

Then again on the opposite side of things I seem to see roles that keep appearing with a very specific job spec. You know the ones, long list of about 10 'must haves'. You know the old saying - Van Driver wanted - must have experience of driving red vans.

Seems a lot of clients are still like this and it never ceases to amaze me that they advertise an urgent role and then 3 months later still haven't got anyone. Any half decent contractor with even some of the skills they want would have picked it up the other stuff anyway by now.

Still think there's an attitude from some clients that they're paying top dollar, they need a person who meets every requirement so they get their moneys worth, despite the reality that it aint gonna happen.

I'd worry if I got one of these gigs because they'd be the sort of client who'd want 10 hours a day just to get their percieved value out of contractor.

[stek]

There was a role about six weeks back spot on for me right on my doorstep, applied, agent called right back, keen, put forward etc, then nowt.

Two weeks later spotted same role, different agent but I broke the rule and applied again on the ground my cv wasn't passed on the first time probably although I could only guess at that. Agent called back, dead keen, CV passed on, then nothing.....

This week had a call out of the blue, different agent, same job again, again I played the innocent this time within the hour I had an interview arranged for today actually. So I thought I was right, the previous two times my CV mustn't have gone to client.

Got email from agent requesting three referees, usual shiite, names, poistion and company they work for. I politely refused with the usual reasons.

An hour later agent contacted me and said interview was cancelled, one of the interviewers colleagues had interviewed me recently and said I wouldn't be a good fit. Well, I may well have buggered it by knowingly going via three different agents for same role but I didn't think I had anything to lose after initial lack of response.

Anyway, the killer is I have never been interviewed by this clientco, or any subsiduaries, ever, I am 100% sure! My interview to offer rate has plummeted a bit recently in these hard times but I normally get an offer after an interview so I'd certainly remember any that went badly or died a death after interview.

So, I may have buggered it, or agent was ref fishing, or clientco is just testing the market for what's there with no role available.

[jmo21]

Anyway, the killer is I have never been interviewed by this clientco, or any subsiduaries, ever, I am 100% sure! My interview to offer rate has plummeted a bit recently in these hard times but I normally get an offer after an interview so I'd certainly remember any that went badly or died a death after interview.

Maybe at another company and the permie moved?

Or the agent just got feedback mixed up, they just didn't want to interview you from your CV.

[barrydidit]

In my (very limited) experience, the roles I have secured have been from agents phoning me - 'I've noticed your cv on CW jobs and I've got a role you might be interested in' type of thing. I had loads of calls stemming from the CW jobs and Jobserve sites. The stuff I've applied for directly hasn't resulted in so much as an acknowledgement.

Since I've been working for a few weeks the calls have died away. This seems to back up the view that keeping your online CV 'current' will get you noticed. Of course, getting noticed is only the first step...