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Employment - Resume Formatting Scam

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Employment - Resume Formatting Scam Reports & Reviews (30)

- Lancaster, PA, USA

I received an email that reads as follows:

Hello,

I hope this message finds you well and in high spirits. I’m Lena Soukup, a Senior Recruiting Specialist, playing a pivotal role in talent acquisition at Private Equity Recruiting Firm, a premier recruitment firm with a global footprint. Today, I’d like to introduce you to an exciting professional avenue that aligns with your expertise.

We’ve been entrusted by a high-profile client to scout for a dynamic leader for the role of Senior Vice President of Technology, in a newly integrated division of their enterprise. Our search brought your impressive track record to the forefront via a trusted talent agency, positioning you as a potentially impeccable fit.

If this opportunity resonates with you, could you kindly provide us with your latest resume? Once in hand, I’ll delve deeper into the role specifics and guide you through our preliminary formalities, which include a confidentiality agreement.

To clarify, as a recruitment agency, our engagement fee is paid by the hiring entity, ensuring zero costs to you. Additionally, your privacy is paramount; hence, no intrusive information requests will be made.

Best Regards,

Lena Soukup

Sr. Recruiter

Private Equity Recruiting Firm

---

?I responded with my normal resumé, at which point I received the following response:

Hello

Your experience is aligned with the role, but your resume is not ATS-friendly. Kindly adapt your resume to be ATS-friendly as I need it asap. For creating an ATS friendly resume, please visit https://ats-friendlyresume.com/

For now, precise details about the role and our client are under wraps due to confidentiality protocols. Once we align our schedules, I’ll shed more light on this. I’ll review my calendar and circle back with potential timelines for our continued discussion.

Regards,

Lena Soukup

---

I was skeptical because I've never had issues with this resumé, so I responded asking why an ATS-friendly resumé was needed for a recruiter. I received this response:

When can I expect to receive your ATS-friendly resume? To proceed with our client, I must have your ATS resume as soon as possible. For creating an ATS friendly resume, please access the recommended website in my earlier email.

Regards,

Lena Soukup

---

At this point I deleted the email and did not re-engage.

- Salt Lake City, UT, USA

Recruiter contacted me asking for a resume, replied "Your experience is aligned with the role, but your resume is not ATS-friendly. Kindly adapt your resume to be ATS-friendly as I need it asap. For creating an ATS friendly resume, please visit https://ats-friendlyresume.com/"

Unsolicited email, street address is a NYC Virtual Address. No LinkedIn information for any staff or the company.

I was contacted on 8/14/2023 by Darlene regarding a position.

"Hello,

I hope this message finds you well. My name is Darlene Stewart and I am an Executives Search Director in PE Recruiting Inc. a reputable Global Recruitment Firm. I am reaching out to see if you would be interested in exploring new opportunities.

One of our clients has retained us to fill Data Entry Assistant level position in one of their recent acquisitions. I was referred to you by an outside talent sourcing firm and based on your previous experience I think you are a very credible candidate.

If you are interested and want to learn more, please reply to this email with a copy of your resume as soon as possible. I will forward it, along with a brief introduction to the client and will contact you back to complete the NDA and get started.

Note: We are a retained search firm and get paid by the employer. You will not be asked to share any confidential information or pay any fees.

Best Regards,

Darlene Stewart

Executives Search Director

PE Recruiting Inc.

745 5th Avenue, 5th Floor

New York City, NY 10151

https://perecruitinginc.com/"

*After submitting my resume I was contacted again and told:

"Hello *******,

The role is aligned with your experience. Unfortunately, your resume does not parse correctly into the Candidate Management System. In order to move forward, I need your ATS compatible resume ASAP. You may contact https://cmsresexp.com for ATS Compatible Resume.

For reasons of confidentiality and non-disclosure, I am not able to share any details of the position or company with you at this time. I will check my schedule and let you know a few time slots for a brief phone call after the initial process.

Best Regards,

Darlene Stewart

Executives Search Director

PE Recruiting Inc."

Then again when I didn't respond:

"Hello, I need your ATS resume to progress with the client. I would appreciate it if you could share it with me as soon as possible. You can arrange ATS resume from https://cmsresexp.com

Best Regards,

Darlene Stewart

Executives Search Director

PE Recruiting Inc."

I sent an alternative copy of my resume before finding the ScamPulse.com Scam tracker and haven't heard back yet. The website I was asked to visit wanted me to pay $10 to have an ATS resume written.

An email was sent to me about a job opportunity and asked that I send my resume. After attaching my resume I received an email my resume wasn’t “ATS compatible” and the “recruiter” said the following: “I need your ATS compatible resume ASAP. You may contact https://cmsresexp.com for ATS Compatible Resume.” From the site it asks for money to create the compatible resume.

Received the following e-mail:

Hello,

I hope this message finds you well. My name is Clay Martin and I am a Sr. Recruiting Specialist in PE Recruiting Inc. a reputable Global Recruitment Firm. I am reaching out to see if you would be interested in exploring new opportunities.

One of our clients has retained us to fill Data Entry Assistant level position in one of their recent acquisitions. I was referred to you by an outside talent sourcing firm and based on your previous experience I think you are a very credible candidate.

If you are interested and want to learn more, please reply to this email with a copy of your resume as soon as possible. I will forward it, along with a brief introduction to the client and will contact you back to complete the NDA and get started.

Note: We are a retained search firm and get paid by the employer. You will not be asked to share any confidential information or pay any fees.

Best Regards,

Clay Martin

Sr. Recruiting Specialist

PE Recruiting Inc.

745 5th Avenue, 5th Floor

New York City, NY 10151

Similar email to the one already listed here on the site.

- Portland, OR, USA

Contacted about a job offer. Asked to upload resume to their website. Then told the ATS system couldn’t read my resume. Then they suggested I upload it to another website that would fix it so it could be read. Did a search on the web and the text they used in their email to me apparently has been used in a lot of previous scams.

- Fort Lauderdale, FL, USA

I received the following email: Dear _______,

I hope this email finds you well. My name is James Harrison, and I am a Senior Executive Recruiter at Ascend Headhunters Inc. I came across your profile on LinkedIn, and after reviewing your impressive background, I believe that you might be an excellent fit for one of the senior-level positions our client is looking to fill. Our Talent Acquisition Manager has recommended you as a strong candidate based on your experience and skills, which are closely aligned with our client's requirements. I am confident that you can make a valuable contribution to our client's organization. If you are interested in exploring this opportunity further, I would be delighted to discuss the position with you in more detail. Please upload a copy of your resume on our website here https://ascendheadhunters.com/applicant-form.html and provide us with a few details, and we can schedule a call at your earliest convenience. Thank you for your time and consideration. I look forward to hearing back from you soon.

Best regards,

James Harrison

Senior Executive Recruiter

Ascend Headhunters Inc.

Because I am applying for jobs, I submitted my resume. After I followed up via email, I received this email: Hi _______, Thanks for submitting your resume. Due to a business trip, I'll be out of the office for a few days. My colleague, Cameron Gray, will contact you tomorrow to discuss the opportunity in detail and answer your questions.

Best regards,

James Harrison

Sent from my iPhone

I then received an email from the "colleague." Hello _______, I hope this email finds you well. I wanted to inform you that I tried multiple times to upload your resume to our Applicant Tracking System, but unfortunately, it is not loading in our system. It looks like your resume is not ATS-friendly. I recommend that you get a free resume review from https://www.eliteresumeco.com/freereview and address the issues. We respect the confidentiality and privacy of both parties, so rest assured that we will never share your personal details or even your name with the employer before your approval. Our Applicant Tracking System is used to share your resume with the employer confidentially. The system hides your name and personal details when presenting your resume to the employer. I understand that you are eager to learn more about the opportunity. I will provide you with all the necessary information after our call with the employer. The company is reputable and offers great benefits, and the salary is in line with your expectations. There is no need for you to relocate as the position is based in your desired location. At this time, I am not authorized to share any details of the employer with you due to confidentiality and non-disclosure agreements. However, we have a meeting scheduled with the client on Tuesday next week and I would love to discuss the opportunity with you after that.

I'll be available for a Zoom conference on Wednesday next week if that works for you? In the meantime, please try to fix your resume issues, so our timing is not affected.

Best regards,

Cameron Gray

Executive Recruiter

Ascend Headhunters Inc.

https://ascendheadhunters.com

I realized this was most like a scam and found information online about resume scams. I did not engage further. Days later I received this follow up email out of the blue: Hello _______, I am writing to update you on the latest developments regarding the opportunity we recently discussed. Unfortunately, we just got off the phone meeting with the client, and I have to convey some disappointing news. Due to a conflict of interest, the deal fell apart unexpectedly. We were under the impression that the deal was already completed and we were expecting to get our retainer agreement signed today. I am sorry to inform you of this, as I know how much you were looking forward to this opportunity. I want you to know that this is a significant loss for us as well, and we are disappointed that we were not able to proceed as planned. However, please understand, this has nothing to do with your candidacy. This is just how things work sometimes, and it is out of our control. I want to express my sincere gratitude for your time, effort, and interest in this position. Our team was impressed by your skills and accomplishments, and we think you could be a great fit for other future openings. If we find a good match, we will reach out to you. Once again, I am sorry that things did not work out as planned. We wish you all the best in your job search and future professional endeavors.

Best regards,

Cameron Gray

Executive Recruiter

Ascend Headhunters Inc.

https:/ascendheadhunters.com

Scammer asked for resume, and after receiving it sent this response: The role is aligned with your experience. Unfortunately your resume does not parse correctly into the Candidate Management System. In order to move forward, I need your ATS compatible resume ASAP. You may contact https://cmsresexp.com for ATS Compatible Resume.

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