I've noticed that whenever I responded to job postings in the past, I start getting more spam.
I'd do as you do, but maybe include an explanation as to why you're providing minimal information in your e-mail.
It would also be a good idea to create a new e-mail address just for craigslist.
As far as working in general goes, if you can't find something right away, here are a couple ideas.
Are you good at writing? If so, you could write articles and blog posts for website owners for money. A well-written, 400 word +, optimized article will bring you about $5. It may take a little practice to write an "optimized" style - including specified keywords early on in your articles, including a couple "long tail" keywords in the article, etc. but not that big of a deal after a little practice.
I think Associated Content at least used to pay for articles, there are also plenty of writing gigs on freelance websites such as ScriptLance, Freelancer, Getacoder, etc.
You could also try fiverr.com. Go there and look at some of the gigs, and copy one that you think you could do.
Maybe give eBay a shot. Ask your buddies if they have anything that they want to sell, and offer to sell it for them on eBay for a cut.
You could even try "eBay arbitrage", where you buy something off of eBay and then resell it there for a profit. Some sellers do not include important keywords in the title, give a poor description, poor pictures (or none at all), etc. All this stuff can scare potential buyers away, decreasing the competition and probably the final price.
You could possibly buy the items and make a much better listing, and possibly profit.
Sellers may misspell the main keywords in the title as well, meaning most potential buyers will never find them. You could try a misspelling search using a site like Typojoe.com to hopefully find some of these items and possibly get some great deals.
You could also use a site like Ebuyersedge.com to set up saved eBay searches. You'd get an e-mail whenever a matching item is newly listed. Especially good for "Buy It Now"s that are priced right. You could set up your saved searches and then from there all you would be doing would be checking e-mails when you get them sent to you and looking at the items, so there should not be a whole lot of time involved in setting up your "system". You'd have the jump on other potential buyers.
Or, if you find something you want listed an auction format, use a sniping service such as Hidbid.com to place your bid for you. It'll bid in the last few seconds, helping you to save money and avoid shill bidding.
You could also try your local thrift stores, Goodwill, auctions, yard sales, Craigslist, etc. to source products. Having a smart phone with internet access would be a big help with this. You could check prices of completed listings immediately, deciding if there's enough room for profit for you to buy a particular item. It seems there should always be room for smaller sellers on eBay for used items.
Or, rather than selling a physical product, maybe try offering a service on eBay. Maybe writing articles, creating graphics, whatever it is that you would be good enough at to charge for.
For longer-term, you could learn search engine optimization, social media traffic generation, etc. and then charge webmasters for your services. If you are good, you can make some serious money doing those things.
Another long-term idea, create your own website (about $10 a year for a domain name, $5 a month for hosting) and earn money from Adsence, affiliate products (you can check out Clickbank.com and Commission Junction to see thousands of products that you could promote and earn money from for any sales that you generate), selling banner space to other webmasters, etc.
Good luck.
There's a lot of BS on craigslist. Even legitimate jobs sometimes ask for resume, references, even a photo(!) without identifying themselves. I consider it to be rude, arrogant, and disrespectful.
I make it a rule never to send a resume or other personal info to any company that does not identify itself. I typically respond by stating that this job might be exactly what I'm looking for, but I need more info, including the company name. I then give a brief summary of why I'm qualified, then ask them to reply with their company name and more specifics of the job, and that I will then send a resume. I only hear back from about one in three- but I'm not about to have unknown companies calling former employers, etc, without my knowing who even has my info.
Tell them you will provide this information IN PERSON at the interview at their place of business. Any legitimate employer will accept this
There are so many fake job postings that are not jobs, they are scams to steal people's identities
And if they ask for your age, date of birth or marital status you know it's a scam as it's illegal for any US employer to ask for this information upfront.
I wouldn't look on craigslist for jobs because of the large amount of scams .... Other than that, only giving the minimum amount of information they need to know makes sense.
You have to provide some basic information on craigslist and then show other information during interview.
For more details http://www.ny-craigslist.com/2013/03/eas...
Ive been skimming thru the jobs section on craigslist and noticed some blatant scams. These people want to know everythign about you etc and ask for your reseume with addresses and phone numbers and stuff... I want to give al the information needed when applying for jobs but lately ive just been replying basic information and wait for a response email back if hey are interested. I think its bad that im not giving all my information at once and i just give basic and the employer may not want to hire me and think negatively of me because i didnt provide enough information but in reality im just protecting myself from scammers...what do you think and what would you do?
