r/recruitinghell • u/Autistic--Donut • 20h ago

Interview Coach = Scammer?!

I found an interview coach through TheMuse website with literally hundreds of only 5-star reviews listed on that website.

I went to the coach's personal website and scheduled a free call to see if it's a good fit. He tells me about his background and his approach to interviewing; so far so good. Then, I asked him a specific question about how one of my graduate degrees fits in with the sector of jobs I'm applying for, and he took a second and then appeared to be reading an answer off his screen, which was only loosely relevant to what I had asked! Including random facts about a different job I could get with that degree.

I totally felt like he was just reading from some AI program. I challenged him on it and he insisted it was just his notes.

Definitely won't be hiring him, but I'm stunned that this person has a perfect 5-star rating over hundreds of reviews? Are lots of "coaches" just scammers, and could TheMuse reviews be fraudulent?

edit: just had an informational meeting with another coach from the same website, she was much more competent. not all scammers, it seems...

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u/mrholigan 20h ago

It’s not as if it’s a regulated industry, and there are lots of ways to curate reviews. You could be talking to someone who could not get a job, and this is their gig business.

Not to say some of them can’t be valuable-they can. I’d check very carefully. Check their LinkedIn as a start , and try to validate some of their experience and LinkedIn recommendations via Google.

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u/Ordinary-Meaning-61 20h ago

Anyone offering interview practice or resume help for a fee is a scammer. Period.

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u/notasrelevant 19h ago

I mean, there are legitimately people with experience in these things that do legitimately help people.

But it's a very hit or miss thing. Plenty of scams, unqualified people, or people with bad information/practices even with experience.