Posted by When you look for a job, you give out a lot of personal information about yourself. This takes a lot of trust. You tell people about your career and even your personal life, usually people you don’t know, to get a good job. During a job search, it’s important to keep your data privacy safe.
Unfortunately, identity thieves know that people looking for work may be weak, and they have a lot of ways to take advantage of this. As a job seeker, you should take steps to protect yourself and know how identity theft happens. At the same time, you should do everything you can to show your accomplishments best to potential employers.
In the pandemic and post-pandemic era, people are more likely to look for jobs online than ever. Many companies use applicant tracking systems (ATS) to handle many applications and keep track of them. In the worst case, hackers could get into ATS software, which is a solid reason to keep personal information to a minimum.
So, here are 7 tips to make sure you can protect your data privacy while searching for a job:
1. Don’t include specific personal information on your resume.
Your resume should have well-chosen words and a clear outline of what you can do. But there are some things you might not want to put on your resume, especially if it ends up online. To protect your data privacy and other personal information, you might want to leave out your exact street address, phone number (unless you have a phone interview coming up), date of birth, marital status, and, of course, your National Registration Identity Card (NRIC) number. When you get a job, you can give this information as needed.
ALSO READ: 6 Data Breach Prevention Steps for Employees
2. Take care of data privacy on social media.
In today’s job market, using social media in your job hunt is becoming increasingly important. In fact, if you don’t have a social media page at all, employers might wonder how tech-savvy you are. But knowing how to use social media well can be a great way to find great jobs. You can also network well on social media if you use the connections you make on LinkedIn and other sites to find jobs.
3. Keep track of where your resume is posted.
When looking for a job, you often have to apply to many places before you make a link and find the right flexible job. Keep track of where you’ve sent your information since you’re “broadcasting” your resume. This can be a key piece of the story if you think your job search information has been stolen.
4. Don’t give out personal information on the phone.
Even if you know a company is real, don’t give out much personal information over the phone during a job interview, especially if you don’t have the job yet. You should try your best to have a good phone interview, but remember that most employers don’t need to know much about you at this point.
5. Check to see if the potential job is legit.
Jobstore.com has always looked into every job on our site to ensure it’s not a fraud and that each company is real. When you’re looking for a job somewhere else, nothing is more important than making sure the job and the company giving it are real. Common search engines like Google and other search tools can help you check information about a company on your own. Be careful with new websites and ones that are hard to find.
6. Watch out for fake job recruiters.
A situation that should make you very suspicious: you get a call from a recruiter you’ve never heard of. They say they want to discuss a job you never even applied for. The best thing to do is hang up nicely and don’t answer any questions! Be careful of any job postings that seem too good to be true. Learn how to protect your data privacy and spot a job search scam so you can defend yourself.
7. Improve your technical knowledge.
Having up-to-date malware-scanning software on your computer can protect your data privacy from job scammers who send spam emails to get into your personal email and get information that could help them steal your identity. The COVID-19 pandemic and the rise in remote work led to more ransomware and new illegal schemes linked to “phishing,” where hackers try to get credit card information, passwords, and bank account numbers.
Find your dream job on Jobstore.com, download our free mobile app today.
Anisa is a writer who focuses on career and lifestyle topics in an effort to motivate both job searchers and employers towards greater fulfillment in their professional lives.
Reach me at anisa@jobstore.com.