The “AI Job” That’s Either The Ultimate Opportunity Or A Complete Scam

New data science grads: Learn to recognize potential AI scams and unfair work arrangements for entry-level job seekers.

Currently searching for (legitimate) jobs? Give yourself an edge by developing a personal project using my free 5-page project ideation guide.

“You ever hear of anything like this?” In certain contexts the mere suspicion this question induces would be enough for me to automatically raise my guard against whatever comes next. But, since I’ve been helping the sender source and apply to jobs for several months, I expected to be sent a boiler plate job listing. You know, something that mixes technical skills with enough whimsy to attract the right kinds of applicants who either embrace phrases like “Data ninja slicing and dicing data” or strengthen their cringe muscles and move on.

But instead of a link to a listing, I received a screenshot. A bit unusual but not unheard of in our exchanges. My B.S. meter nearly broke once I saw “You’ve been selected” because, according to the sender, “they haven’t even asked for an interview.” What followed should be familiar to freelancers as a pretty standard proposal for work on a job marketplace. While you haven’t been hired, you’ve supposedly been “vetted” to work on the platform; freelance marketplaces like Upwork and Fiverr use similar “hiring” structures to approve eligible workers.