I have been warning you about employment related scams for years and today’s scam represents the most recent incarnation of scams that involve seeking employment.
Searching for a job online has become the norm for many people seeking employment and there are many legitimate online employment websites such as Careerbuilder.com and Monster.com, however, merely because an ad for a job appears on a legitimate website does not mean that the job is for real.  It may be just a scam seeking either personal information to make you a victim of identity theft, your money or both.  Do not assume because you see an ad for a job on a legitimate employment website that the ad is legitimate.  Although Career builder.com, Monster.com and other online employment agencies do their best to screen their ads, they can’t be even close to perfect.
In the newest variation of the scammer, the scammers will  first do research on their victims and read their resumes.  They then contact the victim and offer them a job, but tell  the victim that he or she will need to purchase some equipment and pay a fee for training.  A check is sent to the victim to pay for the equipment.  The unwary victim deposits the counterfeit check and get provisional credit from his or her bank before the check is discovered to be counterfeit which can take weeks.  At this point the funds are taken back from your account by your bank, but meanwhile the money you have wired as instructed to the scammer is lost forever.
TIPS
Never spend money to apply for a job.  Legitimate employers do not require fees.  Google the address, telephone number and name of the company to see if they match what you have been told.  Don’t send a resume with personal information, such as your Social Security number that can be used to make you a victim of identity theft.  If an ad appears to be from a company that you know is legitimate, confirm by a telephone call to the real company’s HR department that the ad you are answering is legitmate.  A legitimate company will eventually need your Social Security number, but not early in the process.  Make sure that you have confirmed that the job is legitimate before providing this information.
In regard to this particular scam, you should investigate the company thoroughly before agreeing to anything and never consider a check as being legitimate until it has fully cleared.