At Jobicy, we understand the importance of ensuring that every job advert posted on our platform is legitimate and trustworthy. Our commitment to maintaining a safe and reliable job search experience for our users involves a rigorous verification process for each job advert before it goes live. Here’s how we check the legitimacy of a job advert:
1. User Agent and Network Type/ IP Reputation Check
Firstly, we analyze the technical details of the submission, including the user agent and the type of network or IP reputation. This step helps us identify any patterns or characteristics that might be associated with fraudulent activities. Suspicious indicators, such as IP addresses known for spamming or posting fake listings, are flagged for further review.
Employing VPNs or proxies to post job adverts significantly erodes our trust. An overwhelming 80% of fraudulent job postings are executed using anonymization tools, indicating an attempt to deceive from the outset. This practice not only jeopardizes the integrity of our platform but also signals a clear intent to circumvent our verification processes.
2. Company Domain and Email Address Verification
We verify the domain of the company posting the job to ensure it’s a legitimate and active business entity. This involves checking the domain registration details, the presence of a professional website, and whether the domain has been associated with any questionable activities in the past. Similarly, we scrutinize the email address provided by the recruiter, ensuring it matches the company’s domain and is not from a generic or free email service, which is often a red flag.
3. Social Media and Online Presence
A legitimate company usually has a solid online presence, including social media profiles and professional networking accounts. We check these platforms for activity levels, follower engagement, and consistency in the information provided across different sites. This helps us confirm the authenticity of the company and its operations.
4. Reviews and Feedback
We look into reviews and feedback about the company from employees and other stakeholders. Platforms like Glassdoor, Indeed, and LinkedIn can provide valuable insights into the company’s reputation, work culture, and legitimacy. While every company may have some negative reviews, a pattern of complaints related to scams, unpaid wages, or unethical practices is a significant concern.
5. Job Description and Offer Details
The content of the job advert itself is closely examined for unrealistic promises, such as exceptionally high salaries for entry-level positions, vague descriptions, or requirements that seem irrelevant or too broad. Legitimate job adverts are usually clear, detailed, and realistic about the expectations and qualifications needed.
6. Direct Contact and Interviews
In cases where further clarification is needed, we may directly contact the company or the recruiter to verify the job advert’s details. This step might involve asking for business registration documents, proof of physical office locations, or details about the recruitment process.
7. Continuous Monitoring
Even after a job advert has been verified and published, we continue to monitor feedback from job seekers and any new information that may emerge. This allows us to take swift action if a previously verified job listing turns out to be questionable.
Conclusion
By employing these comprehensive checks, Jobicy aims to protect job seekers from fraudulent job offers and ensure that our platform remains a trusted source for legitimate job opportunities. Our dedication to security and transparency means that users can confidently search and apply for jobs, knowing that we have taken every precaution to verify the legitimacy of each advert.
In our ongoing efforts to maintain the integrity of our platform, we’ve gathered some interesting statistics that shed light on the effectiveness of our verification process. On average, 6 out of every 10 job adverts submitted to Jobicy are rejected due to various reasons that fail to meet our legitimacy criteria. The most common reasons are: a questionable job description and a suspicious employer website.
Furthermore, we’ve noticed a trend where a significant portion of the rejected adverts had discrepancies in the information provided about the company, such as mismatched company domains and email addresses not corresponding to the claimed organization. This has prompted us to enhance our domain and email verification steps to ensure that only genuine companies can post job adverts on our platform.
