As I mentioned in my last post I have found myself unemployed for the first time in many years. There are however numerous new ways to seek employment which weren’t previously available…like online employment sites. seek.com.au mycareer.com.au

After spending hours checking the online employment sites I decided I’d check out craigslist.com.au. Not a site I would generally visit for employment, but hey…what did I have to lose?

Well, I couldn’t believe my luck…there it was the position I’d been looking for…

I need a Personal/Administrative
Assistant to monitor and keep me up to date with my activities.

Duties and Requirements:

*Posting ads on Internet and news
paper
*Processing weekly check payment.
*Scheduling programmer’s, flights and keeping me up to date with them.
*Handling and monitoring some of my financial activities.
*Filing ,Faxing ,Creating and sending out letters, scanning documents, some
personal assistant duties for owners, and many other
*Managing expenses and invoices

I need someone with:
Good planning, communication and organization skills
Must be organized and able to assist in all the job Requirements
Works well with people, takes initiative and can handle multiple tasks
concurrently
Well balanced, flexible, vibrant, personable, positive and proactive
Must be an innovative and creative thinker
Must have excellent letter writing skills.

This position is home-based and
flexible part time job,you can be in any location you will be working from your
home doing all the activities.

Working hours:Mon-Friday 10am-2pm
daily.

Note:I need someone serious and ready to work from his or her home for this
position. Kindly get back with your resume if you are interested in this
position, send your resume to my E-mail at duncanken@live.com

Ken Duncan Panoramic Photography
& Tours

Ken Duncan…you know…KEN DUNCAN, the famous landscape photographer!

So I immediately applied for the position even though it was only part time hours and I really needed more…but it was Ken Duncan afterall and I’d find something else to fill in those other hours!

Next day I received an email back telling me I had the job and he was really pleased with my resume. He said he was in West Africa (now I did get a slight gut tingle since thats Ghana and I am familiar with scammers from that area) and he needed me to get started by filling out the application form and telling him what office equipment I had (fax, laptop, internet, scanner etc) the application form also contained my address and mobile phone number.

I waited for the reply which came today and my gut feelings were really strong. The email had several ‘typos’ but the one that stood out the most was ‘check’…he mentioned for me to get prices for any office equipment that I didnt currently own and he would forward a check for me to purchase them. Well, Ken Duncan is an Aussie…and Aussies don’t spell check they spell cheque. “Warning Warning”!!!

I immediately emailed the address on the Ken Duncan Panoramic Photographer’s site and although feeling incredibly silly…I asked the question.

Are you the real Ken Duncan?

I received a prompt reply (Thank you so much to Stephanie Packer for taking the time to read my email and replying to it! Sensational customer service.). The advertisement and position were in fact a hoax that was currently being displayed on several other well known websites.

Thankfully I didn’t get too caught up in this, but I did however send back the application and am now a little fearful of the consequences of my stupidity! I can’t believe that I got sucked in by a scammer. I’ve worked for a web based business for years…so why did it take me so long to read the signs?

Oh well…I’ve not given up hope. It’s early days yet, there’s a job with my name it somewhere (and most likely my name on several things I don’t want it on, plastered all over the internet!!)

It’s the old saying “One door closes and another one opens”…and here I sit waiting for the other door to open, but I think I’m gonna have to kick some doors soon as my patience is running out!

Nah, seriously…I’ve found myself unemployed for the first time in over 15 years! The company for which I have worked for the last 7 years unfortunately chose to close their office doors and with it went my job (& that of 2 others).

I can certainly understand their need for closure as its best to save what little is left of their business and themselves. Its sad though…we were a great team and I wish them well, but of course…back to me…now I’m jobless and finding the whole ‘job seeking’ task quite an ordeal!

Once upon a time one would see an advertised position in the newspaper, write a cover letter, attach a resume and post it to the prospective employee then wait for the call for an interview or the “Dear John” letter. Oh how that has changed…

Now one must peruse the online job market daily,find positions of interest under the most unusual titles and hopefully local, complete an application form, address key selection criteria, write a brief cover letter and upload it along with ones curriculum vitae…all online, never to be seen again. Then with fingers crossed hope the application etc actually gets to the person it was intended for and not lost somewhere is cyberspace for all and sundry to read!

hmm…maybe I’m just getting old? Perhaps this old dog needs some new tricks (or at least training)

Let me know if you have a job available…I can do most anything and if I get desperate…most likely will