Monday, February 1, 2010

Job postings that do not include company names

Why is it that many jobs I see posted on online job sites don’t name the company. Is this a scam? I’m not sure if I should respond to ads like these.

1 comment:

USDCareerBlog said...

That’s a great question that requires a somewhat wordy response. So here goes:

Job postings that do not contain the company names are called “blind job postings.”

Here’s why they exist: When you are job hunting, you will see many job openings listed both by actual employers (e.g., Qualcomm, Enterprise, Wells Fargo) and by recruiting firms or employment agencies who have contracted with specific companies to post jobs and conduct the initial screening of candidates.

For many companies, using recruiters is a cost effective and efficient way to find the most qualified personnel. The agency will not want to make the company information public, since revealing their client's name would mean that their competitors would have the information they need to try to take that business from them. In addition, many candidates will bypass the listing and apply directly to the company’s HR page and/or inundate managers with emails or phone calls.

There are also many legitimate reasons why a company might not want competitors, customers or current employees in the company to know they are looking for someone to fill a position.

In addition, some jobs listed as blind ads do not represent actual job openings at all. Recruiters use the ads as a way to gather a large number of resumes for a particular set of skills so that they will have potential candidates when an appropriate job comes up.

So that’s the good news - there are legitimate reasons for “blind ads.”

Here’s the bad news: In a minority of cases, blind ads can be used to gather personal information about individuals as part of an identity theft scheme. If you answer such an ad, be sure to include as little personal information as possible. NEVER send your social security number or any banking or credit card information. And ignore come-ons that make ridiculous claims about getting rich quick, making six figures in the first year, or depositing checks in your bank account to earn a commission.

So there is nothing necessarily wrong with applying to a blind job posting. However, if you are contacted by a recruiter and invited for an interview, you should ask for the name of the organization so that you can do your research and exercise “due diligence” prior to accepting the interview. Do not agree to interview if the name of the organization with whom you will interview is still being withheld.