Is an Application Fee Legit?
I’m about to start a job search. I’ve seen some ads where recruitment companies charge fees. Is it legal to charge fees for getting me a job?
Sincerely,
$=Job?
I’ve spoken with a few recruiters, and have been told that in the US it’s legal, but in Canada it’s not. (But some Canadian companies get around this by saying that the charge is actually for career counseling.) When there is a fee, sometimes it’s legitimate, and sometimes it’s not.
First, an example of one that was not legitimate, courtesy of one of our contacts that recruits healthcare professionals for the Middle East. Back in the mid-1990s, after the first Gulf War, a company in the US claimed to provide outrageously high paying, short-term healthcare jobs in Kuwait. All an interested party had to do was mail in $50 and a résumé. So our contact had dozens of people call them asking if they knew anything about these jobs and the company, because they got nothing for their $50 and phone calls went unanswered. When our contact tried to call the company to investigate, she also couldn’t get through. (Of course, it was a scam, and an example of “if it sounds to good to be true, it probably is.”)
In most cases where money is changing hands for a hire, it’s an employer paying a recruiter to source candidates for them. The candidate is charged nothing, but is usually required to cover their own basic costs, such as, in the case of an overseas position, obtaining a passport. But there are legitimate companies that charge fees. Since I’ve mentioned international work, one legitimate company that I know of offhand that charges is International Schools Services (ISS), which staffs the international schools in countries around the world. ISS charges a fee of US$160 to start a teacher-applicant’s file, and $160 to reactivate it.
So do basic things to check on a company – Has anyone you know heard of them? Do they have a good reputation? Are they listed with a chamber of commerce or better business bureau? If you telephone, can you actually speak with a person?
Good luck in your job search!
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