Craigslist
 

Has anyone ever been gainfully employed by placing/responding to an add on craigslist?

It seems like the last bastion of the desperate, but that is, perhaps, just how I look at it.

I am asking because I responded to a post on craigslist yesterday morning, and I got an e-mail back at 8:00pm local time asking me to fill out a few quick worksheets about my work experience. This screams scam to me, but there again, it might be just from everything terrible I hear from the media about CL. The person had a local phone number and invited me to call them with any questions, which I will do tomorrow.

I just wanted to find out if anyone has ever had any positive experience with a job posting on CL.

(no need to tell me to watch out for scams... believe me, I am the most pragmatic person you will find.)

I've only ever run into scams through craigslist.

I have had a friend or two who found legitimate jobs on there though.

I still look on craigslist all the time, just in case I find something legit...

In 2007, I responded to a CL ad about an internship at ThinkFree (java based office suite and text social networking). Not only did I get the position, but it turned out to be paid. It was a very positive experience.

I'd get their location and shit and check them out before filling out anything for them. Hell, Just tell flat out tell them you don't trust craigslist and you'd rather turn in whatever information they required at their office.

Maybe I am just a little paranoid because I look at my location which is listed as a generic "Western Kentucky" and see tons and tons of scams. They're easily spotted because they list their location as western KY instead of the town/city/county in which they're located. "Western Kentucky" is very frickin vague and only includes about a 250sq mile area and 20+ counties. Every legit post will have their location listed something like "Webster County" or "Madisonville" or whatever. That's like 1 out of every 100 listings.

I did find one job on Craigslist, but I've had much better luck with Monster. Found my last 3 full-time jobs on it.

Really?? Imo, Monster's turned to poop. Lots of advertisement-type listings instead of actual job postings. I've had good luck on CareerBuilder though.

I don't usually go searching for job listings on there, I just post my resume and get emails from recruiters who have open positions requiring certain skills I have. Most of them are no good but you only need one. =P Whenever I've gone actively looking for something online, especially on craigslist, it seems they get so many emails they just ignore 90% of them, or they're not looking for me anyway. ;)

I haven't tried Craigslist yet. I need to I s'pose.

I can't imagine what finding jobs are like there. I only use it for cars and parts and it seems like stuff i want is sold ten minutes after the ad appears and when i put ads on there they get shuffled back ten pages the same day and never get any response.

There are a lot of decoy listings out there aimed at zapping your email address with work from home pyramid schemes, but yeah my last job placed me on the 68th floor of the columbia tower of Seattle working for an Internet service provider for over a year. I think that was worth it. :D

It probably has a bit to do with where you're located and a bit to do with your ability to tell the difference between bullshit and reality.

In Seattle and Portland almost everyone I know uses Craigslist to post and find work. It's a part of the culture here, and nothing else comes close... unless you're seeking a very technical job, where the only way to find the job is to know about it.

If you spend some time on Craigslist, you'll quickly be able to tell the difference between the real jobs and the scams. Some categories are all shit, some are all real... use your judgement.

Good luck!

Ditto. Never found anything as far as jobs go. When I needed a piece of furniture or workout equipment, though, I always find what I'm looking for.

Craigslist is a way of life for New Yorkers. I have landed my last two jobs through CL. That includes the porn job in LA.

I responded to several job ads out of craigslist, interviewed for a couple of them, but the interesting thing that happened was that one of the people that I interviewed with passed my resume on to a friend of his and that got me a short term job.

Hot off the presses...

I've actually found legit jobs on CL. People, on the other hand....

Well, this is all a moot point as I talked to the person who sent the e-mail, and they were indeed legit, although the position requires a Secret Security Clearance, and mine expired about 2 years ago. :(

Around Boston, same thing. CL is legitimate for finding work. In fact, a lot of companies post there *first* because it's free, relying on monster.com and other venues second. I got my last three very legitimate, very well-paid jobs on CL.

Exactly what use is security clearance anyway?

Government jobs and contracts, and government-funded jobs, that require it... as for why the government wants it, most likely to attempt to ensure you're trustworthy and loyal.

i really don't trust craiglist much. because for all you know it could be a rapist or a scam. haha

A similar question piggy-backing on the OP, has anyone ever had any success with the personal ads either replying to one or posting your own? I cruise through those every now and then out of curiosity and just have a hard time believing that any of them are actually legitimate. I guess I just have the stereotype of them all being posted by fat, bald, 40 year old men with a role playing fetish and a large collection of pictures stolen from Google Images.

craigslist sucks, bunch of fake ads etc etc

Yes, there are definitely legit jobs on Craigslist out here--it's how I got my current position!

My man posted on there for his store, and had great success in hiring.