A HR firm to be wary of...

I'm sure there are many HR firms out there promising everyone illustrious careers if they just cough up the money and engage them. Here is one I had the misfortune of interacting with about a year ago, and advise caution with:

https://www.shine.com/

Here is a succinct summary of how my interaction with them unfolded:

Step 1: Incessant phone calls from a sweet talking, polite, female representative urging me to pay a fees of just Rs. 7500/- to avail their services.

Step 2: Since the amount wasn't that high, and I was job hunting at the time, me falling for the con and making the payment.

Step 3: The sweet talking, polite, female representative disappears and in comes a snappy, ultra busy, dude who never has more than 2 minutes available. In those two minutes he asks if I would like to become a VC here or Dean there vagairah vagairah ...

Step 4: Magically, one gets shortlisted for a Deanship interview withing 2-3 days (this might also explain why applying through regular channels often gets you no response (sabka hafta fix hai bhai!))

Step 5: Come interview, once again a sweet talking, friendly, female voice introduces herself as the HR representative of so and so university and asks a few questions.

Step 6: Within a few hours, the snappy, ultra busy, 2 minute dude calls, and announces graciously: "Sir, Heartiest congratulations! You have been successful in the HR interview for so and so university!"

Step 7: Now the whammy: Before the next round of interview, you will need to pay a fully refundable Rs. 35,000/- for your security check.

Step 8: Without bothering to waste the dude's time with "hey man, will the money get refunded even if the next round doesn't work out?" and venturing to guess (I believe, intelligently) that there are probably 50 chaps paying Rs. 35,000/- for their security checks, and only one will get eventually refunded, I spell out their con and forbid them to ever call again.

The calls still haven't stopped. Now both the sweet talking female voice and the 2 minute dude have disappeared and a computer talks to me instead. But I still don't use cuss words because I'm resolved to stay a gentleman.

Stay sharp! Don't allow such con jobs to thrive!