Tuesday, October 17, 2006

Online Resumes and Privacy Concerns

Prospective employers may not be only ones eyeing your online resume. Identity thieves and other unsavory characters may want to download your personal and professional data. To keep your online resume from doing any unwanted damage to you or your credit, you need to understand the risks and how to mitigate them.

JobKite, a job posting Web site, offers the following tips:

Privacy concerns:
Make sure the Web site has a privacy policy so you know how the company will handle your personal data and credit card information (if you're charged for posting). If there's no policy, then you have no legal protection. Pay particular attention to how long the company keeps your resume on file.

Limit information:
No legitimate employer needs your social security number, bank account numbers, mother's maiden name or any other identifying information.

Post smart:
Don't post your resume on every site. Instead, seek out sites that are relevant to your career path and are well known. Quality sites, rather than quantity, is the key.

Leave it out:
Omit references from your online resume. If strangers start calling your old boss or best friend, you may find yourself without references before too long.

Source: Forbes.com (Technology)

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