Home « Online Job Search Guide « Resumes « Sample Resumes « Internet Resumes
Your CyberSafe Resume
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 goal
is 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 --
- Your personal cell phone number, assuming that it is unlisted (be sure it rolls over to a personal voicemail account if you don't answer).
- Your personal e-mail address that is unconnected with either your home or your work, like one of the Web-based e-mail addresses (hotmail.com,
Gmail, MSN, etc.) or perhaps a permanent "alumni" email address from your college after you graduate.
Do NOT use a goofy e-mail address (e.g. hotstuff@example.com) or your messages will probably be deleted unread. Use the e-mail address as an opportunity to do some marketing and some differentiating - like sjones-web-pro@example.com or sjones-MBA@example.com.
- Remove
your standard "contact information" --
- 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"
- "New
England Regional Gadget Marketing Director" becomes
"multi-state marketing manager of gadget-class products"
- Remove
your current employer's name; replace it with an accurate,
but generic, description --
- 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.
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.
© Copyright, 1998 - 2013, Susan P. Joyce. All rights reserved.
About the author...
Online job search expert Susan P. Joyce has been observing the online job search world and teaching online job search skills since 1995. A veteran of the United States Marine Corps, Susan is a two-time layoff “graduate” who has worked in human resources at Harvard University and in a compensation consulting firm. Since 1998, Susan has been editor and publisher of Job-Hunt.org. Follow Susan on Twitter at @jobhuntorg and on Google+.
