Job Opening Red Flags
Things to Watch Out For
As we enter into the new year, lots of new job opportunities are going to be popping up. But that also means lots of scammers are going to try and blend in with that influx. For my part, I try to filter out any obvious scams before posting on my site, but I can’t catch them all. (No one can; I’ve found scams on every job site out there, unfortunately.)
So today I’m going to give you some pointers on how to not get ripped off.
Too Good to be True
Someone recently emailed me about a PA position, claiming “the payment is $80 per hour.” That’s more than most union crew make, but I figured I’d give the guy a chance. Maybe he was using voice-to-text, and his phone misheard $18. Or maybe he meant $80 per day. Neither of those are good rates, but it’s better than interning, right?
So I replied, and he confirmed that he was, indeed, offering $80/hr. This is called “idiot baiting.” You’d have to be incredibly gullible to believe someone would pay a production assistant $80 per hour. Scammers don’t want to waste their time on someone smart, so their initial outreach includes something so egregiously wrong, only an idiot would take the bait.1
And of course, every bait has a hook…
Money for Nothing
I honestly didn’t even understand how the following scam worked the first time someone tried to nail me. I had just been hired (or so I thought), and the producer called to tell me he was sending me a check. A portion of it was supposed to be my pay (before I even did any work) and the rest was for renting equipment. But of course, the rental company doesn’t take cash, so he wanted me to write them a check, from my own bank account. Although I didn’t know what his game was, I was pretty sure something was up.
So I asked him to just write two separate checks. He said no, this is a perfectly normal way of doing business, he does it all the time. I again refused, and he never called me back.
Turns out the plan was simple—he was going to send a bad check. I deposit it in my account, write a new check to the rental company, and when the producer’s check bounces, I’m responsible for any overages.
Now as I said, I had already been through the application, interview process, but it’s best to avoid these situations before you get as far into the process as I did. So here’s a few more red flags to look out for…
Bright Red Flags
Hiring you without meeting you
If someone needs an assistant, they need one now. The time from job posting to hiring can be a matter of days, at most a couple of weeks. But hiring an assistant without ever meeting them? That doesn’t happen. If you get a job offer based on your resume alone, something is up with that company.
It is possible that they’ll hire you after a just a phone (or video) call, in a production situation. A PA quits at the end of the day, and they need someone at basecamp in the morning, the AD has to make a decision quickly. But they’ll still talk to you, at least.
Asking for personal info
If someone asks for your social security number before you’ve been hired, they’re going to steal your identity. Same goes with your physical address; what are they going to do, write you a letter? They don’t need any of that until you’re filling out your I-9.
Asking for a picture
First of all, don’t put your picture on your resume (unless you’re an actor). What you look like shouldn’t matter to a potential employer. There are only two reasons they’ll ask for your picture:
They’re a creep.
They want to know your race/gender/age without actually asking for it, so they don’t get sued for illegally discriminating against protected characteristics.
Offering to relocate you
Wherever the movie is shooting, any production can find ambitious 20-somethings who want to work on set. There is no reason to fly a PA to location, unless they already have a relationship with the production. Plus, the way tax incentives work, the company is more likely to fill lower ranks of the crew with local hires anyway.
Any offer to fly anyone below the level of department head is likely the first step of a human trafficking scheme. So unless your dad is Liam Neeson, don’t take it.
Bonus Green Flag
You’ll often see job posts with emails like “2026developmentassistant at gmail”. This might seem sketchy, but in fact, it’s totally normal. The entertainment industry attracts a lot of crazies, ranging from superfans to genuine stalkers. An opportunity to work closely with an A-list star or mega producer is going to attract a lot of weirdos. An anonymous email is just a simple way for people not to give out their personal information to the public.
Keep Waving
Those are all the flags I’ve got in my semaphore kit. If I missed any, leave a comment below, and maybe I’ll do a follow-up post.
To be honest, I’m sad that this post even has to be written. It’s hard to believe someone would try to scam money out of a struggling PA or assistant, but it happens. And as an aside, if you do ever find a fake gig on TAPA, please let me know so I can delete it ASAP.
This is also why Nigerian prince spam is full of typos.