Gertrude Said:

When finding jobs on Craigslist how can you tell whether a job posting is a scam or not?

We Answered:

There are plenty of ways to know a scam from a real company
1 - a real company will respond to you from a corporate email address (NOT a free address like Yahoo, Hotmail, Gmail, etc) and give you the company name, address and phone number. Then google the company name or call 411 to verify that the company actually exists at that address and phone number. Scammers are known to use real company names - but the email and phone number they use have NOTHING to do with the real company
2 - a real company if interested will call you and ask you to come in to THEIR office for an interview. They won't ask you to do an IM interview for any reason. And even for legitimate work from home jobs like medical transcription, you still have to go into the corporate office for an interview and to fill out a W-9 form
3 - a real employer will NEVER ask anyone they've never met to handle financial transactions. EVER
4 - a real employer will NEVER ask you to click on a specific link for a credit check, background check, IQ Test, Skills assessment test, etc before they even interview you - those are ALL identity theft scams that will also max out your credit card
5 - a real employer will NOT make grammatical, spelling or punctuation errors, and will NEVER ask for your sex, age or marital status in an email (100% illegal to ask under EEO laws)
6 - a real employer would not ask for your HOME address, bank name or any other personal information before they've met you in person
7 - if the salary sounds completely unrealistic, then it's NOT a real job offer
8 - nobody is ever going to hire a housekeeper or nanny that they've never met - so don't believe any stories that they are out of town and want you to start before you arrive
9 - a real employer will NEVER pay you before you start for any reason, and will NEVER make you pay before you start


For your own safety, either just put your city and state on your resume or rent a PO Box - never put your home address. Set up a new email account just for job searches - that way if you do fall for a scam your regular email will not be spammed or targeted with malware that will start spamming all of your contacts. And to be extra safe, get a pay as you go phone that you only use for job searches. They are very cheap -- I got one for $20 that included $10 worth of calls

Unfortunately from my experience about 80% of job postings are scams. Pretty much anything mentioning personal assistant, payment processing or mystery shopping is a scam - I've not found one that wasn't. The only legitimate jobs I've found are either shop or restaurant jobs

Theodore Said:

Are writing jobs on Craigslist legit?

We Answered:

Yep, they are. I guess it actually depends on the person who posts the job, but I applied for one out of curiosity, and it was as legitimate as can be. I turned it down, because it was for a book about restaurants and clubs in my city, and the only thing left that needed to be covered was the topless bars. I have no objection to exotic dancers or their profession, and I have been to topless bars, but I found the idea of having to go to every single one in my area depressing. I am just not that into boobies and beer. (Though, as I think about it, my husband would probably have been all for me taking the assignment ;))

**Edit**

If you are interested in picking up some freelance writing jobs, there's another very interesting site called Sologig.com. You have to pay for access to the really premium jobs, but it isn't a lot of money, and Sologig is very reputable--they have a whole billing system set up, they send tax statements, the whole works. They were set up specifically to help freelancers and potential employers get together. You should check them out.

Claire Said:

How do I answer a job ad on Craigslist?

We Answered:

Short and simple. Address the person you are applying to by typing hello then say you express interest in the job and like additional details (if not given). But if you really want to sell yourself, let them know your greatest strengths and what makes you stand out from the rest. In my opinion, I'd rather keep my inquiry short unless they want to know a little more about me. If it is a work at home job, then ask multiple questions; are they legitimate, are there any fees to pay, are you dealing with a reputable company. That way you weed out the good from the bad.

Also including your resume is good, especially if they asked for it.

Leo Said:

Computer writing jobs: Where can I find them?

We Answered:

You mean Freelancing jobs to write online articles so you can become my competition?

This should cover the basics:

http://www.google.com/#sclient=psy&hl=en…