ResumePower Blog

Does your resume include information that puts you at risk for junk mail, spam, scams or identity theft? Follow these tips from security experts to protect your privacy while allowing the right people to find you.

Determine Your Risk Tolerance

Scott Germaise, author of Privacy Tactics: Protect Your Personal Information Assets and VP of product and project management at identity management and security firm StandardID, advises job seekers to trust their instincts and assess their risk tolerance. “Some people couldn’t care less about having a great deal of their personal information publicly available, while others feel that any disclosure beyond the basics is too much,” he says.

Jay Foley, executive director of the nonprofit Identity Theft Resource Center, also cautions job seekers to carefully consider what information they include in resumes. “When you post your resume online, you’re sharing it with more than just one employer — you are sharing it with the world,” he says.

Find Balance Between Discretion and Disclosure

Job hunting requires releasing certain information to potential employers. At the same time, job seekers can be selective about the information they share. “You will have to accept that when you put certain information out into the world, you lose some degree of control over it and how it may be used,” Germaise says. “The key is to find the right balance between privacy and desired disclosure…. It’s good to be prudent but not paranoid.”

According to Foley, posting contact information like phone numbers and street and email addresses doesn’t necessarily pose a high risk for identity theft but can make you vulnerable to scams. “Job seekers may be contacted by a representative falsely claiming to be a staff member for a Fortune 500 company,” he says. “They say they need to do a background check and take all kinds of information about you — and then get 32 credit cards in your name.”

Germaise agrees job seekers can easily be targeted for phone and email scams by posting contact information on resumes. “Such scams are relatively inexpensive, which contributes to their common occurrence,” he says.

Information-Protection Strategies

So how do you protect yourself? Follow these tips:

1. Activate Monster’s Confidentiality Feature: You can hide your name, street and email addresses, phone number and the name of your current or most recent employer. If you upload a Word document or copy-and-paste a plain-text resume, be sure to manually remove identifying information.
2. Be Selective When Providing Contact Information: Foley recommends listing a post office box instead of your street address. Alternatively, you can include just your city and state, revealing your full address on request.
3. Be careful with email addresses, too. “Use a disposable email address for your job search,” advises Germaise. To protect phone numbers, consider getting an unlisted number, or use a voice-mail service. Many services offer a free phone number and deliver messages via email, but you will likely have to pay for a local number.
4. Don’t Provide Too Much Personal Information: “This may seem obvious, but do not post Social Security numbers, references or any other detailed personal information,” says Germaise. Foley strongly advises against including a Social Security number or birth date on a resume — both can be used to steal your identity. If you’re concerned about your employer discovering your job search, omit your company’s name, replacing with a general description. Another option: Monster’s Privacy Plus feature allows you to block up to five companies from finding your public resume on Monster.
5. Be Google-Ready: The vast amount of information available online can be a virtual playground for scammers — or potential employers checking you out. “Make sure any nonwork-related online profiles of yours do not contain your full name,” Germaise suggests. “That is, if your MySpace or other personal Web sites show a decidedly nonprofessional side of your life, make sure they’re not going to come up in a Web search for your name.”

Search Smart

Job seekers should ensure job or interview inquiries are valid. “If you are contacted by an employer, conduct research, and find out if the employer and representative are legitimate,” advises Foley. “Check out every offer or hint of an offer through the phone and Internet, and check the employer’s reputation with the Better Business Bureau.”

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by Kim Isaacs

Whether you’re writing your first resume or updating an existing one, stop and think about which keywords you need to add. You could be the most qualified person for the position, but yours will be lost in a sea of resumes without the right ones.

Recruiters perform thousands of keyword searches on Monster’s resume database daily. Of course, you want your resume to show up when appropriate.

The problem is that there’s no magical list of perfect keywords for your job objective. Sample lists are available, but hiring managers differ in what they consider important when conducting a keyword search. In fact, two hiring managers filling the same position may enter completely different keyword terms. So what’s a job seeker to do?

Through diligent research and sound judgment calls, you can maximize your resume’s keyword density and improve your chances of getting noticed. Here’s how:

Study Job Advertisements

This is the best way to determine important keywords. You will be able to get into the mind of employers who literally spell out what they’re looking for in job postings. In the following ad, important keywords are in bold:

DEF Company seeks an experienced human resources assistant to work in our busy downtown office. Duties include ensuring regulatory compliance with FMLA, ERISA and HIPAA laws, maintaining personnel records, coordinating new staff orientation meetings, assisting with recruitment campaigns and maintaining the employee handbook.

Requirements: The qualified candidate will have a minimum of five years of human resource experience in a fast-paced environment with strong knowledge of benefits administration including medical, dental, life, 401(k) and COBRA. Proficiency in MS Office programs is required. Bachelor’s degree preferred.

In addition to keywords found in job advertisements, think about keyword variations. In the above example, the abbreviated “HR assistant” could be important. The ad indicates MS Office is required, so adding specific computer programs you’ve used (Word, Access, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook) is a good idea. Of course, only include keywords that actually match your skills or experience.

Review several job advertisements for your ideal position. The jobs don’t have to be in your geographic target area. The idea is to find skills, experience, education and other credentials important in your field. You will probably find keywords frequently mentioned by different employers. Focus on the “requirements,” “skills” or “qualifications” sections of job ads, and look for industry buzzwords and desirable credentials for your job objective.

Talk to Recruiters and Employers

Arrange informational interviews and ask which credentials are important in your field. Listen to the language hiring managers use to discover keywords you should incorporate in your resume.

Think Like a Hiring Manager

Imagine you are in charge of recruiting employees and are searching a resume database. Which search terms would you enter to generate the most qualified candidate list? Also, consider other keywords hiring managers might use, such as employer and school names, and be sure these are represented on your resume.

Additional Sources for Keywords

• Employer Web sites.
• Government job descriptions (O*Net and the Occupational Outlook Handbook)
• Industry association Web sites and hard-copy publications.
• Career-related networking/discussion groups.
• Online resume samples.
• Career exploration and resume books.

After conducting your research and identifying essential keywords, add them to your resume. Keywords should look like they naturally belong where you place them. At the same time, your resume should read smoothly. One strategy is to incorporate skill-related keywords in Monster’s Skills section. You can also weave keywords in elsewhere, including your resume’s Objective and Experience sections.

Once you optimize your resume for keywords, renew your resume on Monster and see if your hits and responses increase. Continually monitor its success. You may need to reassess and tweak your keywords until you achieve your desired results.

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The workforce is aging, but very little is being done to accommodate the shifts in the workforce, leaving “mature” workers struggling with the challenges of job searching in a market geared to younger people.

Preparing a resume that emphasizes your value is a good first step to preparing for your search. Here are eight ways to age-proof your resume:

• Don’t provide your complete work history. This is the number one mistake job seekers make. If it’s before 1990, employers probably don’t care. Hiring managers are most interested in what you did recently, so concentrate on your recent career. If you feel compelled to delve into earlier experiences, create a section called “Early Career” and provide just the highlights and no dates.
• Watch your language. Avoid age-revealing statements such as “35 years of experience” or age-defining clichés such as “seasoned professional.”
• Stick to a “combination” resume style, leading with a strong “Career Summary” section. You may have been advised to mask your years of experience with a functional resume format. But employers do not like to see functional resumes because they are often used by candidates who are trying to hide something. You don’t want employers reading your resume and searching for a possible problem. Unless your work history is extremely spotty or you are completely changing careers, stick to a chronological format.
• Show that you’re current with technology and industry trends. Are you proficient with Wang or an expert at BASIC programming? While these programs were once cutting-edge, they have been replaced with new technology. Show that you’ve kept up with the times by removing antiquated equipment, programs, and tools, and highlight your knowledge of modern technology.
• Consider dropping dates of education. This is a tough call, because hiring managers who want to know a person’s age will go right to the “Education” section and do the math. If your education occurred in the 1970s or earlier, it might be in your best interest to eliminate graduation dates.
• Keep your school names updated. If you graduated from a school that has since changed its name, include the new name. If you are concerned about discrepancies in case an employer asks to see a transcript, write the former name of the school in parentheses.
• Show that you’ve been continually learning or taking on new roles. The key is to demonstrate that your skills are fresh and in demand. It is important that you show that you are flexible and willing to adapt to organizational changes.
• Quantify and expand on your achievements. As a professional with a long work history, this is your chance to accentuate the positive. You have what younger workers may lack — years of practical experience. Provide examples of how your performance contributed to your employers’ goals, mission, and bottom-line results.