In the vast neighborhood of the internet, Craigslist has got to be that awkward multi-level thrift store in the barren part of town that always smells a little funny. 90% of what's on the shelves will be dusty, perhaps decaying junk hastily cast aside by a neighbor moving in a rush or someone looking to make a quick resale buck. But one time out of ten, you go in to find a warm winter coat that fits perfectly and isn't stained with mysterious dried substances--and for only a dollar fifty at that. Between the batches of obviously stolen GPSes, awkward calls for near-prostitution, and what must be feeble attempts at public humor, there's some real gold on that website. I've used it to find many a gig, from transcription to graphic design. Sometimes employers post on there in real sincerity in hopes of finding someone with talents that meet their needs. And then there are the bumbling ones who couldn't tell a writer from a bucket of wet and hilariously disgruntled kittens.

I just had an encounter with someone in the latter category--someone posing as a smart, capable client, a CEO of a company, a real player in the journalism business. Pro-tip: if you're going to try to convince potential editorial staff that you're the real deal, don't send emails in all capital letters. That should have been my first tip-off, but I was curious as to the content of his proposed magazine and so I went along with communications. Throughout the course of our correspondence, he made a few critical errors that undermined his credibility entirely. He first referred to his cell phone as his "direct line", as though he were sitting around in an office that he obviously didn't have. If you're going to pretend your personal cell phone number is an office number, don't then go ahead and text from that number. It's a bit of a giveaway. Furthermore, don't make claims about your "company" that are easily investigated and proven false. Don't claim that you've previously started a magazine with a real readership under the same company you're claiming to be CEO of now. Don't assert that you've been running this company with great success for five years when a quick Google search verifies that you only started it up last March. Don't say you've got offices in Puerto Rico when you don't--a buddy living in Puerto Rico who's agreed to help out does not count as a whole office.

 

The internet is great for quickly finding staff, but it also means that the history of your "company" is an open book. It takes me five minutes to figure out that you've been lying about half the things you've described in my initial phone interview. And I don't work with liars.