Fresh graduates are so eager to work that they’re not even getting paid—some are actually losing money!

The times are advancing, and so are the scammers.

When the entire society struggles to find jobs, asking someone to pull strings to land a position is no longer just the desire of a select few seeking a cushy job. It has become a potentially widespread market demand. And when demand is this broad, unscrupulous actors will inevitably exploit people’s expectations and find loopholes to take advantage.

Scammers are evolving too. Their method isn’t about guaranteeing placement at a company.

Instead, they arrange private dinners where they let you believe they have connections and know the right people. Then they tell you that getting into this company involves insider knowledge of the interview process precisely because they have the right contacts. All you need to do is complete a specific type of training, and you’ll be good to go. They then refer you to a training institution.

Young people struggling to find work are anxious. They think, “If I prepay six months’ salary for this training, I’ll not only learn something but also secure a job. It’s a worthwhile deal.” They treat it as self-investment and enroll. But what you’ll discover is that you won’t actually succeed—the program is designed to prevent you from graduating.

Throughout this process, they deliberately set up obstacles that are impossible to clear, ultimately driving you to give up.

So, who’s at fault in this scenario?

It’s you. At least, that’s what you’ll believe. You’ll think it’s your own inadequacy, that even with backdoor connections, you couldn’t complete the training and therefore didn’t get hired. Whom do you turn to for a refund of that prepaid six months’ salary? Nowhere.

The person who introduced you didn’t take money to grease palms. They merely recommended a training institution. And the fees you pay at that institution are for course hours. Worse yet, for financially strapped fresh graduates, they may even steer you toward loan providers.

You end up taking on loans to fund the training, and when you fail to land the company job, you’re left owing not just the principal but also accumulating interest, compounding over time.

In the end, you realize: who was this person really?

A shill. A shill for the training institution, a shill for the loan company. They were managing your expectations, making you believe you could obtain your dream job through illicit means and unfair competition.

In reality, they were waiting for you in a trap. What you lose isn’t just money—it’s your time.

And what else? Your confidence.

When you fail to secure a job even through these illegal means, your self-expectations plummet to an abnormally low level. In common parlance: your confidence collapses. For a young person, this kind of blow is nearly devastating.

The world is complex, always has been. Because the world is made of people, and human nature is inherently complicated.