Avoid scam recruiters when working with Horizontal Talent in 2024

Recently, we received an email from Haley Marketing with the headline, “Staffing company needs your help.” The urgent headline led to an email devoted to employment scams (and no, this email was not a scam!).  

There were two key takeaways in the email: 

1. “When in doubt, ask ChatGPT.” 
2. Connect with other professionals. “As an industry, we are a community. We all benefit when we help each other to solve problems that are universal to staffing.”

David’s insights inspired us to revisit our 2023 blog about online safety in the professional world. While we wish we could’ve left this topic in 2023, scams are something we still must worry about now and into the foreseeable future. For example, after this year’s SIA Executive Forum, negative impacts of technological advances were in Horizontal Talent CEO and Cofounder Jeremy Langevin’s top five 2024 trends.

Jeremy said, “Staffing firms must remain tech-forward and adaptable, especially regarding cybersecurity protection. Deep fakes, using technology to imitate a person’s face and voice and cyber-attacks are increasing. For staffing this can be relevant during meetings, video prescreens and other virtual work. A company’s reputation is one of the most important things in building business, so having thorough cybersecurity protection will be critical in the evolving digital age.”
 
With all this in mind, let’s look back at our best practices for avoiding scam recruiters when working with Horizontal Talent:

1. Watch out for scammers requesting upfront payment or fees in exchange for job placement or training.
   • If you're working with Horizontal, note that we will never ask for financial, banking or credit card information to be considered for an open role.
   • While discussing job opportunities, you will never be asked for payment of technology, software or any initial investment in office equipment for access to the job.
     ​
2. Communication will always come from someone with an @horizontal.com email address/domain.
   
   • Never engage in communication with recruiters that use generic email addresses instead of official company domains.
   • Be wary of details in email addresses. Some scams change one letter, capitalize something that shouldn't be capitalized or make something plural that isn't usually.
     • Ex: @horizontaltalents.com
       ​
3. The position you are being considered for will be posted on our website.
   ​
4. Recruiters should be addressing and answering your questions regarding the job and should be knowledgeable about the job they are recommending or following up with you on. If they seem vague, or gloss around the details, please stop the interview.
   ​
5. You should not accept a job without interviewing with the client.
   ​
6. When applying to a job posted by Horizontal Talent, please ensure the job posted is redirecting to HorizontalTalent.com and only that domain. Scammers post fake job postings through email, social media and text messages. While job websites are legitimate, it does not stop scammers from gathering job posting information and reposting independently.
   • Social media is public. Scammers can take information from LinkedIn, Indeed or any other platform.
     ​
7. A Horizontal recruiter will always be on camera during the screening process.

Spotting a fake recruiter or fake staffing agency

Ask the staffing agency questions such as:

- Have you placed any previous candidates with your client?
- What can you tell me about the company’s culture?
- What growth opportunities are there in this role?
- Can you please tell me more about the role?
- How long has the company been operating?
- Look at company connections on LinkedIn

While some of these tips are specific to Horizontal Talent, many of them are applicable to any staffing firm you are working with -- or any job you apply for.

Be careful, take your time when applying and make sure that you remember these points when engaging online.

If you are unsure if you are being scammed, please contact the company directly. If that company is Horizontal, please email us at verify@horizontal.com.