Jobs and business opportunities

When you are ready to enter the workforce, you'll probably have to start with an entry-level position. Don't be discouraged! It might help to get an internship or do some volunteer work. That counts as experience on your resume, and it is an opportunity to learn about how to work in an office.

But beware of job scams!

That first "real" job can be pretty hard to get. Many employers will ask about experience, but sometimes when you are just starting out, it seems like an impossible situation. If you can't get a job, you can't get experience, but if you don't have experience you can't get a job! Help!

Crooks know you are in a bind. Don't fall for a job scam. They are extremely common on the Internet now.

If it sounds like somebody is going to offer you a dream-job sight unseen, or give you an easy-money business deal, watch out. $5000 a week to work at home, and they never even met you? Get real.

"I came across this company that was advertising on all the major jobsites...Read the email

If you are asked by a stranger in an unsolicited e-mail to send an up-front fee to get more money later, it is most likely a scam.

E-mails from strangers are almost always spam, generated by the millions, looking for a victim or unsuspecting consumer.

The reasons offered for you to send money may include all sorts of training, equipment, inventory or start-up fees. Or it may be for investments, earnings, debt or mortgage services and complicated financial deals. The stories are getting more and more sophisticated and persuasive.

• Don't pay a fee up front for a job. Most legitimate employers do not hire you and then require you to pay them money to train you.
• Don't respond to unsolicited email job or business "opportunities" with any personal information - real opportunities don't happen like that.
• If an unsolicited e-mail offer is supposed to make or save you money (or erase debt), but you have to send money first, it is almost certainly a scam.

Be especially cautious if you cannot find any information about a business except what the business itself offers. You should be able to figure out where the business is physically located, and you should be able to find independent information about it.

Check out a Texas company that is offering you a job with the Texas Workforce Commission, Better Business Bureau, or Office of the Attorney General. Beware of web-based companies you have no firsthand knowledge of.