While browsing around oDesk, I saw a job posting that aroused my curiosity The job description was vague, although the position had the word "analyst" in it. I checked the profile of the employer and it seems it is a newly-created account; no feedback but with a bundle of job postings.
Giving the employer the benefit of the doubt, I applied for the job listed and sent a formal cover letter along with my application. Here's the reply I got from them:
Hi Mark,
Thank you so much for responding to our add on gumtree. We really appreciate it.
We had so many responses we can't possibly respond to them all. Please answer these 5 simple questions so we can schedule an interview.
1. Can you handle several important tasks that needed to be done in a certain time frame? How good are you at multi-tasking? Give me an example of a challenging situation in the workplace and what you did to fix it.
2. What are your top 5 strengths that you are most proud of?
3. What would you consider to be your worst quality and why? This is vital information because we would also want to provide the necessary training if appropriate.
4. Do you consider yourself a people-person - someone who provides exceptional customer support and satisfaction in order to strengthen my business? As you know my company’s goal is helping people and I would like to find a staff that has the same passion.
5. Write a small paragraph as to why I should select and interview you to be my right hand person. Why is this job a good fit for you?
Thank you for your response, and I look forward to reviewing your answers.
Please respond ASAP to be considered for this position.
Regards,
Well, well. Something's fishy. First, what's gumtree? With a quick Google search, I found out that Gumtree is a website for classified ads, perhaps some sort of Craigslist. Clearly, the person who copy-pasted the standard reply message missed this small error.
Ok, perhaps that's just an honest mistake. Perhaps the person who responded is too weary to function properly, or some other reason. However, the questions they're asking seems a bit "generalized", as to say. Nothing indicated in particular except that their goal is "helping people" and they needed "someone who provides exceptional customer support and satisfaction". A call center job? Helpdesk? L1 support?
The funny thing is, in question #5, it indicated that they needed someone to be the "right hand person". Virtual assistant. perhaps?
I got lost with the final question, "Why is this job a good fit for you?" Given that the job posting did not include specific job description nor skills required, it would be hard for me to answer this question. How will I know if I'm qualified for the job if I don't have any idea what the job entails?
Even though I'm no longer interested, I sent another message asking for clarification regarding the issue, and to inform them of the typo. Below is my message:
Hello,
You posted the "ad" on oDesk, not in Gumtree.
Before we proceed, can you tell me the qualifications for that position? I would also like to know what kind of business your company is involved with.
Thank you and have a great day.
I still haven't heard from them, one whole month and counting. Bogus. I checked the profile again and I was surprised to see there are 44 applicants for that posted job. Job posted by an unverified account, with no hires and no amount spent.
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| oDesk employer profile |
So, to all freelancers out there. Always conduct background check for your potential employers. If the job posting is vague or hazy, most probably it's going to be a waste of time. If the offer is too good to be true, it probably is.
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