Do you worry about Resume Identity theft?

[Jay Smith]

Apparently identity thieves are targeting online resume’s more and more. If you google ‘resume id theft’, you’ll see what I mean.

Aside from the obvious pieces of information such as ss#, birthdates, maiden names, etc…. many sources are suggesting to even leave off full name, address, phone, graduation and work dates. And many go so far as to suggest leaving off company names entirely and replacing them with generic descriptions.

I sometimes wonder if this is all a bit extreme. I suppose it depends on the situation. If I am responding directly to a company I know is real, I probably won’t have too many limits other than the obvious things. But if I’m posting an online version on a company website or recruiter website, I think I’ll be more careful from now on.

I’m curious to know everyone’s thoughts on this. Are there any employers on here who have come across resume’s with limited information? (If so, how do you feel about this?). Have any job seekers on here been following safe resume practices?

[J. Waldron, RLA]

I submit http://poweritcareers.com as exhibit A. and Avalon ENG as exhibit B. They don’t respond to emails and their contact phone # is a cell phone that simply disconnects when called.

Job search engines are garbage. Even the “legit” ones. But there is good news from some of them…..like careerbuilder.com. After I submitted my experience and qualifications as a Registered Landscape Architect, I received several exciting new career matches!!11!!1. Apparently, I am qualified as a licensed nurse, a sales support technician and my favorite…..A MENU IMPLEMENTATION SPECIALIST for a buffet restaurant chain! Now if I can just get that money wired into my account from my new Nigerian friend, i’ll be set.

I would never give a ss#, but I guess they don’t really need that to get what they want.

[Jay Smith]

You should definitely go for the menu job 😉

[Clayton Munson]

I actually got my first job off of career builder, not through them matching me up but by me searching out landscape companies.

As for the resume id theft I’ve never thought about that happening until now. I used those job sites just to find a company then I would contact them personally from my personal email or by phone.

[Jay Smith]

nrchmid, although I’m not a student, I appreciate your reply. Just to clarify, its not really the ‘work samples’ that thieves are interested in. Apparently, most resumes have enough information on you for a criminole to steal your id, get credit in your name, etc. No, were not talking ss#’s and birthdates. Rather your full name, address, schools and dates attended, work history, etc. It was a shock to me, but it’s a crime that seems to be on the rise.

I understand what you’re saying about custom-made cd’s, I used to do that myself. But it gets very expensive (postage, packaging, paper, ink, cd’s, etc) to send out large numbers of these when searching for a job.

[Jay Smith]

Nick, that’s a fanstastic product you’ve got there. I commend you on your efforts. If there’s one thing I’ve realized during this recession, is that after I’m employed again, that I need to spend more time keeping an up to date, cutting edge, portfolio. In my past job I didn’t take many pictures or spend any time on keeping up a portfolio. And while I’ve recently put together a fairly nice InDesign portfolio, I realize it could be so much more. I’ve seen some really nice websites out there as well using flash, and you can tell the owners invested a lot of time into it. (I assume, unless they hired someone to do it).

Anyhow, I’ve been working on a website recently as well, so that people can download my portfolio. I think websites are good for three reasons: 1) you avoid having to email the person your work (and thus risk their email server rejecting your attachment because of size or mistaking it for spam 2) you avoid the cost of production and mailing 3) it also makes you look a little more tech savy. So I’ll see how it goes, I’m hoping I get much better responses between the InDesign product and the website. My portfolio before was a joke compared to what I have now. Same work, but presentation was very generic.

Anyhow, nice job on that packaging. Are you currently looking for work? or do you just keep it ready in case something comes up?

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