By Jeff Westover
The job posting on monster.com looked like any other. Jobseeker Kenneth Hansen-- hoping a positive change might come of it--pointed, clicked and prayed his resume would get a result.
It did. A few days later a recruiter called.
For over 20 minutes he interviewed Kenneth on the phone and discussed his background and sales experience. Kenneth listened excitedly as the recruiter explained the company vision, the new job opportunities and the chance to finally be in control of his compensation and career path.
Then came the crusher: all that Kenneth had to do as a final qualification was to cough up $15,000 to "invest" in the organization and secure his spot.
The "interview" was nothing but a sales pitch for a gazoom.com-- a Canadian based e-commerce company. Kenneth was at first disappointed-- and then angry. "My first thought was 'how dare they use my resume to sell me something!'. My second thought was to sue because I provided that information to get a job-- not a telemarketer."
Kenneth is but one of the growing ranks of people that have been victimized by cyberspace invaders. The ugly specter of "Internet privacy"-- or rather the lack of it-- is being raised on all sides. Whether you shop online, send email or even look for a job-- it seems that someone can look over your shoulder in some way.
In Virginia, 23 people are now unemployed because email they sent over company computers was intercepted and deemed "inappropriate" by their employer. And across the world, 350,000 people received new credit cards in January because the cards they used in December were made public on a web site by a hacker.
The term "Internet privacy" is the latest oxymoron. It is quickly taking its place next to terms like "military intelligence" and "business ethics". These are words that just do not go together.
~ The One-Eyed Monster ~
Have you ever seen anyone yell at the television or talk back to the radio? It's a silly thing to do because those devices are not interactive. They can't hear you and don't care what you do with them.
The Internet does.
Most people assume that surfing on the Internet is like watching television. But unlike television, everywhere you go on the Internet-- including your actions and re-actions online-- are recorded as with an endless tape. Every click and every email is embedded somewhere. It can be retrieved, re-sent and analyzed. From this, enterprising e-commerce companies can know which advertisements to place in front of you and what web sites offer the most bang for the advertising buck.
The technology behind it all sounds harmless. As you visit from web site to web site, your browser collects "cookies" from these sites that are used to remember you and your preferences for using the site. Until recently, cookies only recorded your presence-- and not your specific identity.
But look for that to maybe change. In October 1999, Internet advertising company DoubleClick made the quantum leap into the unthinkable by recently purchasing a direct mail database and marrying the cookies they collect to the real names, addresses and phone numbers of people that surf online. Doubleclick has over 15,000 clients using their software that places advertising on web pages-- and chances are that if you have been online, you are in their database.
~ Trust Me ~
Privacy online is a double-edged sword for web sites. Many reputable companies do not want to alienate paying customers by betraying a trust. But the technology of the Internet allows them to better serve customers by providing content and advertising tailored to the habits they demonstrate online. The question for them becomes a fine line to walk: how much information do they collect to provide better service-- without compromising the privacy of their site users?
Unfortunately, privacy is sometimes an issue that is simply out of their control.
In the case of Kenneth Hansen, monster.com was powerless to control the outcome. Their privacy policy is clearly stated online that a third party-- such as a recruiter or company purchasing access to the database of resumes-- can do anything with the information once they are in possession of it.
This is a prickly issue for all web sites offering resume posting. While their bread-and-butter are the very companies that access resumes, it is a constant struggle to monitor that the resume databases are used for their intended purpose. "We try to check out every employer or recruiter that comes to Monster.com" stated Timothy Dittrich, Senior VP of Product Management for Monster.com. "But it's a huge task. We have denied access to some companies and sent back their money if we have found them to be using resumes to fill their own databases, to sell product or to use the information for anything other than hiring."
Sometimes, information that sites gather is stolen for malicious purposes. In early January 2000, Web TV had a problem with hackers accessing their email database. The hackers sent messages in the name of some Web TV users that were threatening and profane. Can you imagine your mother getting an email from you that was laced with vulgarities? That's exactly what some Web TV users reported.
Yet privacy and security of information is hardly a frontline concern for many web sites. In May of 1999 the Georgetown Internet Privacy Policy Survey found that less than 10 percent of web sites even post a privacy policy. Of the web sites that do have a privacy policy, a majority of them report that collected personal information may also be shared with third parties.
Privacy policies and heart-felt expressions of "we'll never disclosed your information" are mere public relations fluff to most surfers. Jupiter Communications reports that 64 percent of online consumers said they do not trust a web site even if they have a privacy policy posted on their site. And for the most part, they are wise to feel that way.
In a report issued recently by the California Healthcare Foundation, only three of the 19 major health-related web sites on the Internet were actually conforming to their published privacy policies.
This is significant because the healthcare web sites typically gather greater volumes of information that are more personal in nature. While the immediate consequence of health data collection online may be nothing more than unwanted email and advertisements, the study's authors said they worried that sensitive information could wind up in the hands of employers, insurance companies or family members.
And here's the real kicker in this deal: seven of the web sites in the survey were closely aligned with DoubleClick and three others had arrangements with similar companies.
~ What If... ~
Is it any wonder then that companies like Ford and Delta are giving their employees computers and cheap Internet access? Both companies clearly state that they have no intention of monitoring employee activity online.
But that's what the healthcare web sites stated in their online privacy policies. You see it all over the net: "We never share your email address with third parties. The information gathered here is used in aggregate to better develop our site to your tastes. Your private information is kept private here".
Yeah, right.
If DoubleClick can tie your real name to your Internet surfing habits would they be interested in selling that information? If a company investigating a potential new hire was able to find out through the Internet that a candidate disclosed online that they had breast cancer or some other serious disease would that impact their hiring decisions?
Can these companies resist going that far?
Sixteen of the nineteen healthcare web sites online have already answered that question.
For employers, computers in the home and in the workplace open up entire new windows to peer into the activities of employees. In the same 24 hour period in which Ford and Delta made free computers available to their employees, Northwest Airlines received court-authorized searches of employee home computers searching for evidence of a coordinated sick-out by flight attendants.
So much for privacy-- especially when the courts make it legal for companies to snoop around.
~ An Information Giveaway ~
Jobseekers are especially at risk. Many jobseekers unwittingly put information--such as their age, marital status or social security number-- on resumes as a means of providing up-front information to prospective employers.
"We see this all the time in resumes we critique for jobseekers." said Heather Stone, president of
myjobsearch.com. "Not only does it give information that is not relevant for the job, but jobseekers compound the problem by randomly posting dozens, if not hundreds, of resumes all over the Internet".
Jobseekers are posting resumes on the Internet as fast as they can click. It estimated that by 2001 there will be more than 16 million resumes posted online, according to a study published by Computer Economics.
But jobseeker beware-- that resume you post is anything but safe.
According to a myjobsearch.com study, 95 percent of Internet career sites post a privacy policy-- much higher than the Georgetown study of web sites over all. But just like the healthcare web sites surveyed by the California Healthcare Foundation, the career web sites make money by charging access to personal information as presented in a resume. And 97 percent of those Internet job boards have a fine print disclaimer absolving them of responsibility for what happens to information once it has been sold to their customers.
The job boards call this a fair exchange. After all, the jobseeker may just get a job by posting a resume. But to many of them, the handwriting is clearly on the wall as more companies like DoubleClick create a backlash online by chaining databases of information together. And they are taking measures to keep the responsibility of privacy in the hands of site users.
Monster.com, for example, just introduced "tiered resumes"-- where a jobseeker can choose to provide only select portions of their resume to a recruiter. "It has to be left in the hands of the jobseeker." Dittrich said. "They have to decide what information a recruiter will see. Their judgement dictates what is most effective and necessary to get the job."
For most career web sites that claim an aggressive privacy stance, this option is vigorously recommended. Some career sites maintain anonymity on both sides of the jobseeker/employer relationship until direct contact is specifically requested by both parties.
But the burden of discovery of this information is upon the jobseeker. Privacy policies are fine print reading-- and not all career sites are alike. What may be private on one site is completely public on another.
While career sites like JobTrak.com post an aggressive policy adamantly guaranteeing that information would never be provided outside the consent of the jobseeker, other sites like BestJobsUSA.com had no privacy policy whatsoever. Some sites, such as Careerbuilder.com, admit in their privacy policy to being aligned with DoubleClick. The jobseeker has to read the fine print from one web site to another to know how great the risk will be.
Jobseekers already have a number of information sources being used against them. Online background checks are becoming more common and web sites specializing in the sale of personal information are flourishing. School records, credit reports, criminal histories and other biographical information can all be purchased online.
Jobseekers may want to investigate themselves online just to see what is out there. Internet searching rarely yields accurate results, no matter the topic. Jobseekers may find that old or inaccurate information out there exists online that could damage their reputation or result in missed opportunities.
~ What Jobseekers Can Do ~
As with most issues in the job search, information and time are the best allies a jobseeker can have. "The old saying 'measure twice and cut once' really does apply to jobseekers online." said Monster's Dittrich. "It's real easy with all these jobs to point, click and fire off resumes by the dozen. But if a jobseeker understands the real objectives of their job search, there is no need to rush and plenty of information online to check things out completely."
The use of the resume in the job search is often one that is not considered wisely, according to Heather Stone of
myjobsearch.com. "A resume is most effective in the hands of someone that wants to read it." Stone explained. "It's a fundamental principle of proactive job seeking-- you meet with prospective employers, send letters, make introductory phone calls and even have meetings. Then you send a resume. The career web sites that tell you paste your resume all over the web do a disservice to jobseekers by encouraging them to not only compromise their privacy but also to waste their job-search time".
Controlling who receives the resume goes a long way to securing sensitive information. By taking the time to investigate, meet and get to know a hiring manager jobseekers can format a resume exactly to address the needs of the hiring company-- better meeting the needs of the jobseeker and the employer.
-- Jeff Westover is an Internet Content Developer based in Salt Lake City. He has 15 years of executive level experience in personnel and project management. Jeff writes for
myjobsearch.com, the largest independent directory of online career resources.
