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Hello everyone! I would like to ask your advice on something. I'm not sure if this is kind of a sketchy situation or if I'm just being overly paranoid.
On Saturday, I applied to a job via Craigslist (which already put me on alert for red flags, unfortunately - lots of scams ) for a barista position. Within two minutes (I'm not exagurating, and this was at 10:30PM) I received a phone call from the person who posted the advertisement. He sounded extremely young which I thought was interesting - he sounded almost late teenager/early twenties-ish. Not a big deal but just kind of strange when most HR people/owners are a bit older. He asked me to come in for an interview Tuesday (tomorrow). While we were on the phone he asked for my age (ILLEGAL ) and asked about my education. I said that I wasn't quite sure about my major yet & was keeping my options open. His reply was "Well, at least you're not going into nursing like everyone else and taking the easy way out." Um..okay. He then said that I have a very impressive resume, which was a bit much, because I've worked at Wal-Mart, a video game store and a hotel. I don't know if that's incredibly impressive Then again, maybe I'm down-playing my experience?
So I asked about the location and he informed me that they were going to be having interviews at "123 Main St, Suite A" (not going to put the real address ). I went to scout out the place so that I wouldn't get lost Tuesday and found that it was a store called The Music Cafe. Kind of weird that he didn't mention the name, right? Or did it just slip his mind? Anyway, at first I thought that it was a cafe that was music-themed. Pretty awesome, that's a place that I would love to work. But tonight I went to research it and found out that it's actually just a music store. There isn't a cafe inside of it.
So it could be that this person knows the owner of the store or something and is just holding interviews there for a cafe that hasn't opened yet...or it's some really strange situation. I'm not sure what to do. Something about it just doesn't feel right to me. These are really small, strange things so I don't know if I should take any of them too seriously. But at the same time, I really don't want to waste my time and get my hopes up for something that isn't what it's advertised to be.
Does anyone have any advice? Also, have you ever attended an interview to find out that it was for something totally unrelated to the advertisement? How about any strange interviews or work situations in general? Thanks for any input
I've gotten a few replies to craigslist postings that were scams. Most of them were advertised as professional or admin jobs, but then mysteriously morphed into sales jobs, for which I would need to foot all start-up expenses, and then if I was successful enough peddling their wares, they would let me put their company name on my card.
Only in one case have I gotten as far as the interview before detecting the scam. Although it was years before craigslist existed, it was similar setup to above. Admin job advertised, suddenly turned into selling perfume and beauty products on the street.
I did also go to an interview last week that seemed a bit dodgy at first but didn't turn out to be when I got there. The ad was anonymous, I got a short email telling me to call for an interview, and at that time they only gave me the name of the company, I had to look up their address. It seemed all a little dodgy. I've asked around and the company is legit. I don't know if the job advertised is, but the description is totally in line with their business.
At this point, I wouldn't presume this was a scam, from what you've described. I would presume that the store is expanding its offerings, or the owner operates more than one business and is simply conducting the interviews at this location, or the coffee shop is an entirely new business and they are using the music store as a temporary interview location.
If it were me, I'd go, and see what they say. If the job isn't at all what they described or they ask for money, I'd walk away.
I've gotten a few replies to craigslist postings that were scams. Most of them were advertised as professional or admin jobs, but then mysteriously morphed into sales jobs, for which I would need to foot all start-up expenses, and then if I was successful enough peddling their wares, they would let me put their company name on my card.
I've only been to one interview that was obviously a scam, although it was years before craigslist existed, and it was similar. Admin job advertised, suddenly turned into selling perfume and beauty products on the street.
I did also go to an interview last week that seemed a bit dodgy at first but didn't turn out to be when I got there. The ad was anonymous, I got a short email telling me to call for an interview, and at that time they only gave me the name of the company, I had to look up their address. It seemed all a little dodgy. I've asked around and the company is legit. I don't know if the job advertised is, but the description is totally in line with their business.
At this point, I wouldn't presume this was a scam, from what you've described. I would presume that the store is expanding its offerings, or the owner operates more than one business and is simply conducting the interviews at this location, or the coffee shop is an entirely new business and they are using the music store as a temporary interview location.
If it were me, I'd go, and see what they say. If the job isn't at all what they described or they ask for money, I'd walk away.
Ugh, those sales jobs are the worst. Especially Vector Marketing - I almost got roped into that until I heard that they wanted money for their knife set. Noo thank you.
I'm glad that the job that you recently applied for is legit. That's where I'm torn on this because it could just be a couple of unintentional slips on his part (similar to what you described), or it could be disorganized and whatnot because it's something really weird.
I'm going to try to find the original craigslist ad because I thought it said something about a new location, which is why it could make sense that the interviews are being held somewhere else. Initially I thought that a music store sounded kind of strange, but there could be reasons, I suppose.
Thank you for your input, those definitely could be possibilities. I'm a bit less skeptical than I was
Sounds like a scam. A barista position and you are meeting in a Music store = Red Flags to me.
Yeah, I thought that was kind of strange, too. Then there's the fact that he didn't tell me the business name (where the interview is) or anything about the cafe itself where I would be working - no name or anything. He could be absent-minded, I suppose. But it just seems like such an obvious thing to not mention.
Quote:
Originally Posted by annerk
It could be a scam, but maybe not.
I would not go anywhere that isn't a public space where you can be seen by other people with this guy though.
Oh, absolutely. There are some crazy people out there Especially from Craigslist, lol I'm not taking chances when it comes to meeting people.
So here is the original ad. It was posted on four different days (Dec 8, 9, 10 and 14) in various categories:
"Do you do coffee? Do you like meeting people and making people smile? Then your the person were looking for. A New Ownership Coffee/Cafe( In City) is looking for Full and Part Time Barista Crewmembers . Barista experience a plus but not needed we are willing to train. If you think this is you please send resume to Bob Boberson at BobBoberson@hotmail.com"
Obviously I omitted the city & name. Email address was a hotmail one, though. Bad grammar and spelling is a huge red flag to me but that could be dismissed as well - grammar nazis aren't the only people who can help with hiring. Gahhh these little things really bother me but who knows if it really means anything.
I don't get what the sudden fear is. Precautions for personal safety do not protect you from scams. Scams aren't physical.
What is going to cost you to go and find out if the job is legit? Nothing. If it turns out to be sketchy, just leave. No harm done. If it is a scam, likely being in a public space isn't going to change that.
Grammar is just another bit of etiquette slipping away in today's job market, along with courtesy follow-ups and thank you letters. I know quite a few legitimate companies in my field that have spelling errors in their ads. Even with 15 million people unemployed, you just can't hire good help these days.
And BTW, you have given enough info to find the address of the company and the name of the person who placed the ad. The address is a small strip mall/office park area. And the person who placed the ad has a linkedin page indicated many years of business in the food service business. It is still possible that it is a scam but I still wouldn't presume so at this stage. Just go and find out what it is all about. You can always leave if it looks dodgy.
I don't get what the sudden fear is. Precautions for personal safety do not protect you from scams. Scams aren't physical.
What is going to cost you to go and find out if the job is legit? Nothing. If it turns out to be sketchy, just leave. No harm done. If it is a scam, likely being in a public space isn't going to change that.
Grammar is just another bit of etiquette slipping away in today's job market, along with courtesy follow-ups and thank you letters. I know quite a few legitimate companies in my field that have spelling errors in their ads. Even with 15 million people unemployed, you just can't hire good help these days.
And BTW, you have given enough info to find the address of the company and the name of the person who placed the ad. The address is a small strip mall/office park area. And the person who placed the ad has a linkedin page indicated many years of business in the food service business. It is still possible that it is a scam but I still wouldn't presume so at this stage. Just go and find out what it is all about. You can always leave if it looks dodgy.
I am awfully paranoid I agree that I could be taking this a bit far which is why I wanted to post it and see what other people's opinions were. I would just rather be safe than sorry - people do weird things, but I guess that I shouldn't always assume the worst. I probably will end up going and will leave at the first sign of anything weird.
Thank you for your input.
Last edited by antarcticelephant; 12-14-2009 at 10:29 PM..
1. It could be a new cafe opening the music store.
2. If this place is in the music store, can't you have someone go with you, shadow you (if the music store is open) and pretend to be shopping?
Whatever you do, tell someone where you are going.
Follow your intuition and don't meet at an odd hour.
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I would like to ask your advice on something. I'm not sure if this is kind of a sketchy situation or if I'm just being overly paranoid.
) for a barista position. Within two minutes (I'm not exagurating, and this was at 10:30PM) I received a phone call from the person who posted the advertisement. He sounded extremely young which I thought was interesting - he sounded almost late teenager/early twenties-ish. Not a big deal but just kind of strange when most HR people/owners are a bit older. He asked me to come in for an interview Tuesday (tomorrow). While we were on the phone he asked for my age (ILLEGAL 
) and asked about my education. I said that I wasn't quite sure about my major yet & was keeping my options open. His reply was "Well, at least you're not going into nursing like everyone else and taking the easy way out." 
Um..okay. He then said that I have a very impressive resume, which was a bit much, because I've worked at Wal-Mart, a video game store and a hotel. I don't know if that's incredibly impressive 
Then again, maybe I'm down-playing my experience?
Noo thank you.
Initially I thought that a music store sounded kind of strange, but there could be reasons, I suppose.
I agree that I could be taking this a bit far which is why I wanted to post it and see what other people's opinions were. I would just rather be safe than sorry - people do weird things, but I guess that I shouldn't always assume the worst. I probably will end up going and will leave at the first sign of anything weird. 
