Question:
Jobseeker beware! When you post your resume online, how many people do you
think have access to it? More than you think. Internet privacy is an
oxymoron and jobseekers are especially at risk.
I have permission from myjobsearch.com to distribute an article written by
Jeff Westover, Internet Developer and contributor to myjobsearch.com. The
article addresses the risk jobseekers take when they post their resumes to
online job resources. This action often results in unknown (and often
unwanted) parties acquiring information that the jobseeker did not intend
them to have -- including his or her social security number! "How Your
Resume Puts You At Risk" offers the jobseeker tips on steering clear of
such pitfalls.
If you want to learn how to keep your private information private, reply
to this email with the subject line, "Send Internet Privacy" and I will
email you the article as a text file.
Answer:
There has to be a list of reasons why one would want to keep their job
history a secret or specific examples of how this hurts you. SS numbers
should not be on an openly posted resume anyway. These reasons should be
openly posted. What is, today, a common scam is the general attempt to get
you to give lots of information voluntarily and enthusiastically. Website
visits and clickstream recording. Free calculator if you let some
insurance company give you a quote (they don't tell you they will ask you
50 questions including much detail about what you own, what you do for a
living, where you live, and all of that information goes into their
database which they use for marketing purposes, and then sell it all to
the server farms where advance marketing projects are carried out). Then
there are the stores that give you a discount card, but you have to fill
out a form, again, giving lots of personal information. Go to the private
eye websites and they say they can get anything on you that they want.
Health care? There is a master database (I forgot the name of it just now)
where insurance companies send a lot of their data and its used against
you if you ever lie about anything and then later file a claim
(particularly if its large) and they can use the fact that you lied to
deny payment. The pharmacy databases where they get a list of all the
medications you take (so they know what diseases you have, had) and that
all gets sold or passed along. Then the rental leasholder data bases
(landlords only want tenants with good rental history and don't bust up
their appartments). The mortgage-lending agencies probably have a database
on people. Then, there are the credit bureaus. Then there are the FBI
files (you can file a FOIA request to see what they have on you). The list
goes on. The NSA has been said (Charles Bamford? in "The Puzzle Palace) to
sample one percent of all of the worlds communications. And, some job
applicants send out hundreds to thousands of CVs/resumes anyway. Who knows
if some companies are maybe paid, what, fifty cents for each one? And,
there is that great sucking sound somewhere around the corner.
