If you've been following my blog, you know that I'm scared to death that my retirement income won't stretch far enough. The rate of inflation isn't helping my anxiety on that subject. So I've been searching for ways to supplement my pension and Social Security income. 

It's been a long time since I was actually job hunting. With all of the online job sites now though the search is a little easier. No more pages and pages of tiny print classifieds. Now, it's running through online listings - with a fine-toothed comb. You have to be able to narrow your search down to a few keywords though or the search becomes overwhelming. 

For instance, I'm hoping to find a remote copy-editing,  proofreading, or instructional design position. If I just enter the word "remote" into a job search engine, the results vary from homework assistant to Tele-doc positions. Needless to say, I'm either not interest or not qualified for the majority of them. 

With all of the easily posted job listings comes a whole herd of job scams. For those like me who aren't looking for a specifically outlined job description, it takes some weeding to find the legit jobs. They're out there - and there are some definite red flags for the ones that aren't. 

First of all, NEVER pay to see a full job listing. There are enough job search engines and leads online that you don't have to, and shouldn't, pay someone to let you know the details of a position. The old cliche' of you gotta spend it to make it doesn't apply here. 

If the listing sounds too good to be true, it probably is. You've seen the ads. "Unlimited earning potential", "make $2000 a week part-time", "free laptop", and any of those with "no experience necessary; start tomorrow" tacked on are all red flags. Unless the job is listed as entry level, you'll be expected to have some kind of experience in at least a related field. With the hoops that HR departments have to jump through these days with background checks and paperwork, any job that says you can start tomorrow is lying. 

Don't give anyone your social security number or bank information until you have officially been hired. Neither an interviewer nor a decision maker needs that information to hire you. That information is needed by HR when they process you for payroll purposes. 

The worst is a vague job description listed by a job search firm. Do they really have the authority to advertise and interview for the position? This type of ad requires further research - and that becomes time-consuming. If it really sounds interesting, try to find out what company the search firm is representing (it should be listed), then go to that company website and see if the position is listed in their openings. If you find the listing on the company website, unless the opening specifically states to apply through the job search firm, skip the search firm and apply directly through the company's website. 

And by the way, completing online surveys might pay enough for a couple of Starbucks visits but it definitely won't pay the rent. 

Even within some of the best job search engines, the scams abound. But with those websites, there's a much better chance of finding a higher percentage of real leads. 

The best search engines for those of who have retired or are planning to do so and have some idea of what type of position we are interested in are LinkedIn, Ziprecruiter, FlexJobs, Getwork, Monster, Indeed, and SimplyHired. None of these do the interviewing and hiring. They provide a myriad of ways to search and most do some vetting of the listings. 

I'm still searching. I have to do some work on my resume so it incorporates my pre-teaching career experience in instructional design and training development. You never know when I'll find that company looking for someone to convert their training course from stand-up to virtual. From a remote location. For a contract price. Right up my alley.