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Put the "Safe"
in your Cyber-SAFE Resume by modifying the content of your
resume!
Take control and create your own privacy protection this way, without depending
on the Web job site to do it for you. Do this to protect your existing job, if you have one, and your privacy.
The content
is developed to protect your identity and your current job, if you
have one. As your resume circulates in cyberspace over time, your
Cyber-Safe Resume will protect your identity and, possibly, your
future employment many years from now.
In some recruitment circles, job seekers who protect their identity
are more desirable than those who don't. The assumption is,
frequently, that you are employed (probably at a senior level) and
have an existing job that you are protecting.
However,
in many cases, the Cyber-Safe Resume may make it a bit more difficult
for the recruiter or potential employer to reach you, at least initially,
because of the limited contact information. So, it is a trade-off
-- privacy for security -- and your choice, obviously.
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
home and/or work address(es)
- Your
home and/or work phone number(s)
- Your
work 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 standard contact information with --
- Modify your
employment history, particularly for the current
job, to minimize the possibility that your existing employer will find your resume searching through a job board's resume database and fire you.
- 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"
- "IBM"
becomes "multinational information technology company"
- If
your job title is unique, replace your title with,
again, an accurate, but generic" title --
- "New
England Regional Gadget Marketing Director" becomes
"multi-state marketing manager of gadget-class products"
- Remove any other information which can be related directly ONLY to your current employer, like a state or federal license number, trademark, servicemark, patent, or other keywords uniquely specific to your employer.
- Save your resume with your name in the file name plus the word "resume" like "sjones-resume.doc," NOT as " myresume.doc" or "resume.doc." Your resume will be easy to save, and identify, on a recruiter's computer hard drive if your name is included in the file name.
For more help with your Internet resume, like adding keywords to your resume, see the other Job-Hunt Internet Resume articles.
You increase
the probability of a confidential job search by being very selective
about where you post your resume. See Job-Hunt's sections on Choosing
a Job Site and Protecting Your Privacy
for tips and guidance.
Read Job-Hunt's article Dirty Dozen Dangerous Job Search Assumptions for tips on avoiding scams in your job search.
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About the author...
Online job search expert SusanP. Joyce has been observing the online job search world and teaching online job search skills since 1995. Susan is a two-time layoff "graduate" who has worked in human resources at Harvard University and in a compensation consulting firm. In 1998, her company, NETability, Inc. purchased Job-Hunt.org, and Susan has been editor and publisher of Job-Hunt since then. Follow Susan on Twitter at @jobhuntorg and on Google+.  |