How do you protect your privacy when job hunting online?

Put the Safe in your Cyber-Safe Job Seeking Activities!

First and foremost, remember who has control over your privacy.  YOU have control until you give away too much information and it winds up in the wrong hands.  So the first rule is don't publish any personal information on the internet if you are not ABSOLUTELY certain of your security.  Remember, there is no absolute certainty that you'll be given a job opportunity so don't give out too much information until it may be appropriate.   Employers don't need all of the information up front.  After-all it's your SKILLS that are going to get you to the interview, not your address, Social Security Number, etc. etc.

Web job sites generate revenue by selling "employers" access to their resume databases. Access is usually sold to anyone who can pay the price, with minimal screening done to ensure that the purchasers actually have jobs to fill.

So, your complete work history, education, and contact information are available to anyone who can pay the access fee -- employers, recruiters, sales people, scammers, identity thieves, etc.

There are "bogus" job sites interested only in collecting your personal information - no real jobs available. Just forms to complete with as much information as you will supply. In addition, the scammers of the world have discovered that legitimate job sites will allow "employers" to search through the resume/applicant database and keep copies of resumes.

The online Employment Application is still evolving.  Originally and still today, may on-line applications were nothing more than "electronic versions" of the company's old hard-copy application with a few new pizazz elements thrown in because they could.  Over time we've seen many company employment applications begin to take on a new shape.  Just recently we discovered an employer's application that allowed the job seeker to "Opt-Out" of providing some of the personal data on-line and allowed an option of providing it later at a time when appropriate and more secure.

Still the evolution of the the On-Line Employment Application will take some time before it has been refined to the point where we might consider them to be "Cyber-Safe".   In the meantime it is still up to us, each individual job seeker, to take the appropriate safety measures when job-seeking on-line.
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1. Limit the personal contact information (name, address, phone numbers) on your resume.
Yes, it may make you a little more difficult for an employer to reach you. But it also makes you look more Internet-savvy, and it protects you and your family from the risks above.

To Make Your Resume "Cyber-Safe"

• Minimal contact information makes it harder for your identity to be stolen or for your employer to discover your job search.

 Remove your standard "contact information"

• Your name
•  Your address
•  Your phone numbers, unless you have an unlisted phone number like most cell phone numbers.
•  Your business e-mail address (big NO-NO!)
•  Your personal e-mail address if it is associated with a detailed profile on you (as in AOL,etc.)

 Replace the contact information with:

• An e-mail address that is harder to trace to you personally like one of the Web-based e-mail addresses (hotmail.com, Gmail, MSN, etc.). Don't use a goofy e-mail address (e.g. hotstuff@example.com) or your messages will probably be deleted unread.
• A cell phone number instead of a land-line number.  Cell phone numbers do not appear in phone company directories and therefore do not appear in "REVERSE Directories" where a perpetrator can obtain your address.

 An employer who finds you via an internet candidate search will most likely attempt to contact you via the same internet (email) rather than wait for traditional mail delivery.

• Modified employment history, particularly for the current job, minimizes potential risk to existing employment.

Remove your current employer's name; replace it with an accurate, but generic, description

• "Nuts n' Bolts Distributors, Inc." changes into "small construction supplies distribution company"

2. Be picky about where you post your resume.
Post your resume only where you are reasonably sure it will be protected, at a site with your preferred employers or the best job listings for you. Focus on posting at a few really good sites rather than many mediocre sites.

3. When the option is available, choose to limit access to your complete resume.

4. ALWAYS KEEP A LOG of where and when you posted your resume on a job site or employer Web site. It doesn't have to be fancy, just effective. A hand-written list with the date and site will work. If possible, keep track of which version of your resume you posted (helpful for updating and tracking contacts). It will also enable you to end your job search after you land your new job. Don't use resume distribution services! You completely lose control of your resume, whether it is distributed via e-mail or posted to a number of Web sites. You don't know who has it or what they might do with it, and it makes you look desperate and/or inexperienced. If you feel that you absolutely must use a resume distribution service, distribute only the cyber-safe version of your resume.

5. Don't provide your Social Security Number (including your Driver's License, if your SSN is the same as your license number), your bank account number, or your mother's maiden name to anyone approaching you about a potential job. A person with a copy of your resume and your Social Security Number has everything they need to steal your identity - the #1 fraud, according to the FBI.  Don't help them by providing that last bit of information.

There is no reason to include your SSN on your resume!

Many credit card issuers use your mother's maiden name as a "password" identifying you to them, so someone with that name can access your credit card accounts (to get cash, etc.).  If a stranger approaches you (via phone, e-mail, or regular mail) claiming to need a little more information to do an employment background check," "prescreening," or something similar, and asks you for your Social Security Number or your mother's maiden name, do not give it to them. This approach has been used by identity thieves to collect information from victims.

In general, the safest time to provide anyone with your Social Security Number is only when you are completing an IRS form at the employer's physical location, after you have accepted their job offer. Your SSN may, very rarely, be needed for a background check, but few employers spend the time/money for a background check on an applicant who has not been interviewed.

If the request feels "fishy" to you, follow your instincts, and don't provide the information they are requesting.

6. Look for, and READ, Web site privacy policies!
If the site does not have a privacy policy, do not use the site! There are thousands of job sites - find another one. Read job site privacy policies!

NOTE: a privacy seal (e.g. TRUSTe or BBBonline) does NOT mean that a site is "safe" to use - it just means that they disclose what information they collect and what they do with it.

For example, and we don't think this problem is limited to just one or two sites, Monster is arguably the major employment super site. However, on 9-5-2001, a Pam Dixon compiled a serious report on Monster's privacy
practices that, if accurate, indicated very bad practices. In the Summer of 2007 Monster.com files were breached in a major way.  Again on February 11, 2009   Monster and every one of their registered users fell victim once more to hackers who obtained their supposedly "secure" data.   The breach also touched USAJobs, the federal government’s official jobs site. Monster provided technology for the site, which had 8 million registered users at the time of the incident.

So, if you choose to use ANY job site, be VERY careful!

Follow  cyber-safe resume guidelines, use a 3rd party e-mail address, and be extremely cautious about any personally identifiable information you share with any job site.

Don't be discouraged, but DO be careful!

VIDEO LINK

More than once we've had a job seeker report something that looked "too good to be real" and yes they did turn out to be "Bogus Offers". In a couple of cases, the reported "employer" sent a check to be "DEPOSITED" at the job seeker's bank. In both cases, the job seeker was smart enough not to cash or deposit the check. But it begs the question as to how many others fell prey to the situation.

In the most recent case, the job seeker took the check to their bank and asked for verification of funds. When the funds proved to be non-existent, the bank fraud dept. kept the check and launched their own investigation. Remember that if such a check is sent through the US Postal Service, it could constitute mail fraud as well and the Post Master will be able to launch their own investigation .

Above all - Be very careful!

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