What is up with the practice of flagging perfectly decent jobs on Craigslist? No, I’m not talking about the non-paying or ridiculous gigs; I’m talking about real jobs that are being flagged in order to “eliminate the competition.”
Deb Ng first brought this up a few weeks ago:
I hear tell are applying for jobs at Craigslist and flagging the ads so others can’t apply. After two or three people flag, the fine folks at Craigslist assume the gigs are spam or scams and take the ads off the list, thereby eliminating the competition. To be honest, it would never occur to me to do this sort of thing.
Not too cool, people, not too cool. This tells me some people don’t have enough faith in their ability to be the best person for the job. Either that or that they’re just sneaky and unethical. Not sure I care to be either type of person. It also explains why so many jobs are flagged so quickly lately.
If you’re taking part in this practice, chances are you really don’t have the confidence in your skills to believe that you could get the job, and you’re afraid of the competition. If you think you’re doing the employer a favor, you’re really not. If the employer wasn’t prepared to receive a multitude of applications, then he/she wouldn’t place the ad in the first place. And it’s likely that a lot of responses that would easily be rejected, considering the amazing number of people who can’t follow directions.
Sure, you’d think that you might be narrowing down the competition by flagging jobs, BUT what if the employer doesn’t feel you’re a good fit? You think that highly of yourself that you’re the only one for the job? All you’re doing is making it more frustrating and difficult for the employer, because they will have to re-post their ad. Besides, even if you flag it as soon as you see the ad and have applied, lots of others have already applied, anyway.
I just cannot see the reasoning behind this tactic. You’re not guaranteed to get the job. Just because you may be among the first to apply doesn’t mean you’ll be chosen! This isn’t a contest. The job isn’t promised to the first responder.
This tactic is cowardly, plain and simple. If you have any integrity at all, don’t do it!
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Julia Temlyn is an 
