Those AI assistants before you even apply aren’t just a pain in the arse. They have been copied by all manner of scammers who post up fake jobs and just want to harness peoples’ personal information.
I totally agree.
Although, conversely speaking, I've walked in to various companies to inquire about work, and the hiring staff has specifically stated "do not use Indeed, Ziprecruiter and the like [to apply here], as those sites are filled with scammers. Only apply through our website". There have been times I've used the 'recruitment' sites, only to inquire by some sort of message (email, phone call) and the company didn't know what I was talking about.
I've also noticed that there are some websites that look so scammy and so weird, that you question if it's totally real.
For example, there's a physical therapy place across the road from me. They are in a tiny plaza with other doctors offices. This therapy office has a website that looks straight out of the late 1990s and early 2000s pop up advertisement genre (if anyone recalls the scam pop ups that would load your screen with crazy stuff. Don't know how else to explain it). This site is loaded with flashy fonts, altered star reviews - which don't tell you where the review came from (it uses the colored stars from Google Reviews, Trip Advisor, Yelp and other sites), pictures that are stretched out and distorted, and the owner is selling his book on the main page plus every other sub page you click on. He's trying to generate clicks for a different way to sell his business and not an actual book explaining how to fix your [back, neck, etc] issue with simple exercises. It's a major sales pitch to visit him. There are 'free downloads' of PDF stuff, but they are 65-90 pages of fluff; nothing substantial. It's a couple paragraphs of "how to" and the rest is "come see me for more".
Even the links to Amazon, where he's attempting to sell his larger paged books, the reviews state the same - he's generating 120 pages of a sales pitch for his office. Nothing states how you can follow simple steps in helping yourself. For $20, people are wishing they could get a refund and un-see what they read.
Anyway, the site looks fake, including the fact their main office location is in bold font with (222)222-2222 as their phone number on the top of the page. It's not until you get to the bottom (it's actually in the footer), where it has their address and real phone number. When you click on "locations" tab, there are 3 other offices, all of which have similar information. Each office number changes by one digit - (333)333-3333 all the way to 555.
I had gone in and questioned it one day, as to inquire also about employment due to their 'careers' tab saying they were hiring. The office manager said she knows there's an issue with the site. "IT is supposed to have fixed it. There is a constant help desk ticket for this issue". So they want to blame someone in an off site (third party) office, instead of finding someone to work for them internally? Which also means if they are aware but unaware, AI could do so much more for them (help or no help. I'd actually like to see the site cleaned up a bit. Streamline it better).
As I write this, I went to the site. They fixed it for now, so the browser version does not have the 222 - 555 numbers. It still looks like a pop up scam site though, and they're still listing the link to the book as well. The same job openings from the beginning of the year are there too. Which tells me the office manager isn't leaving so quickly, as I was led to believe when I talked to the co-owner.
Also, this same company, if you sign up for their emails, you get blasted with daily messages, upwards of 3 times a day. All it is, is a generated message regurgitated in so many words, on how this guy fixed his body problems (sports injuries, etc) with the right exercise and mindset. He wants to be able to do the same for the world, and wants people to come in to his office so he can fix you. They're all themed messages but also the same message, slightly altered. I don't think he or any one else is writing this. Maybe he gives some AI program key words and that programs creates the email blast because the marketing team sucks if it's an actual human.
So tech can help but not help in the job search?
