Jobs and Student Loans

How Recruiters commit fraud?

By Sara Pasricha

A friend of mine once told me that I was fortunate to graduate from an Ivy League university and it will help open up doors of opportunities. I believed in the possibilities of my diploma that I even bought an expensive wooden frame to display it on the wall upon graduation.

When I joined the job hunt after graduating, that was when I realized the suffering of the 99%. I was in the United States at the time of joblessness and recession. Employers would not sponsor H1B visas for foreigners due to budget caps. More so, I was a person with disabilities on a wheelchair. They simply could not afford the health care costs; it makes you wonder what Obamacare was for and the struggle that made it into law.

While looking for work in the United States on OPT, I reached out to my Indian contacts, I was half Indian and I reached out to connect to the group for job opportunities.

I spoke to Indian recruiters from 1-800 phone numbers who were based in India working at odd hours, looking for possible candidates for fortune 500 companies for lesser salaries. I thought with my credentials I would be a good candidate. They circulated the resume, but there were no takers. What happened next was a shocker? Could you modify your resume and include more degrees and certificates? In short, could you lie on paper? I felt indignation. They said everyone was doing it. So I backed off and did not push with my application. It is sad that people lie in their resumes to get a job, and recruiters who push for candidates even suggest that these candidates inflate their credentials.

Two Indian recruiters in particular suggested unethical  behavior. The first one wanted me to put knowledge of programming and engineering courses. The second one wanted me to say that I was on green card status which I was not.

So society beware. That person who got the job you were applying to could have done something “special and unethical.” Everybody is doing it, so it must be okay.  Right? Meanwhile, the 99% of us have student loans and rent to pay. Our credit scores and reports have been destroyed, and we are waiting on the good mercies of those who will not tolerate fraud.