Clemson Center for Career and Professional Development

Career Development & Recruiting

Safeguard Your Search and Protect Your Image

Although the majority of job listings and organizations are legitimate, you may encounter scams, falsified information, or situations that can be physically or financially risky.

The Michelin Career Center does not endorse any employer and urges you to be cautious in all of your interactions with potential employers, whether or not you learned about them through the Career Center. Please contact the Career Center at career-l@lists.clemson.edu or 864-656-6000 if you feel that you may have been a victim of fraud or become aware of a situation that you think the Career Center should know about.

Tips to Safeguard Your Search

  • Do not give out your Social Security number unless you are sure it is legitimately needed. Some organizations will request your SS# for legitimate reasons (such as a background check). Ask why this information is needed and how it will be used. Generally, organizations will not ask for your SS# until after your interview. Do not ever provide this information online, in an e-mail, or on the telephone.
  • Do not provide anyone with your personal checking or banking information. This information is not needed for any step of the job search process.
  • Do not give out personal information online or over the phone. Personal information such as height, eye color, ethnicity, etc. does not pertain to the job search.
  • Be sure the e-mail address to which you are sending information has the same domain name as the organization. For example, if applying to "Organization X," the e-mail address should have "@Organizations X" somewhere in the address. Be wary of sites/organizations where much of the information is "under construction."
  • Research the organization to be sure that it is legitimate.
  • Be especially cautious when dealing with organizations outside of your own country.
  • Always use good judgment in ALL of your interactions with employers. The Career Center suggests that students request business references for unknown organizations before interviewing with them off campus. The Career Center advises students to interview in public places only.
  • Be cautious when posting your resume online. Research the site to learn if it is legitimate. If you are unsure, limit your contact information on the resume and use generic job titles if yours are unique.

Job Search Scams

Job searching can be a very vulnerable time for an individual—both emotionally, as well as the fact that your personal information (including full name, address, phone number, etc.) is being repeatedly sent to others via e-mail or through applying for jobs on websites.  Scam artists can and have taken advantage of this. Arm yourself with information regarding Job Search Scams so you do not become one of the many unsuspecting victims.


Clemson University students have been the target of scam attempts throughout this year, but numbers have increased dramatically in the past few weeks. The most frequent type of scam attempt is the “job offer scam” via email. These emails are typically for job offers or internships that promise a weekly paycheck of $300-$400, and is often signed by someone impersonating a Clemson University professor.


Ways to avoid falling victim to one of these scams:

  • Check to see if the sender’s email address is actually a Clemson email—a scam email will most likely come from an outside email address.
  • Clemson faculty will not typically reach out to our students with internship or job offers in this manner.
  • Forward any suspicious email to phishing@clemson.edu.


If you’re not sure if an email is legitimate, ask us! Contact the career center and we will be happy to help. CCIT is also a great resource and their Office of Information Security works diligently to monitor and combat threats to the Clemson community. You can also visit CCIT's Cybersecurity Alerts page to learn more about specific threats and scam attempts.


Arm yourself with knowledge: