Career AdviceResumesResume Tips

Keep Your Online Resume Secure

By Monster Contributor

While you may hear about online fraud, it tends to be focused on companies that derive their business from online purchases. As Monster is primarily a free service, and the contact information found in a resume can just as easily be located elsewhere (e.g. telephone listings), you can be assured that posting your resume on Monster is a safe way to conduct a job search and manage your career. However, you do need to be mindful about the type of information you include on your resume. For example, you should never include the following personal information:

  • Social Security number.
  • Driver's license number.
  • Bank account information.
  • Credit card information.
  • Passwords.
  • Date of birth.

Note: You should also never share the personal information listed above with a prospective employer until you are confident that the employer and employment opportunity is legitimate.

Posting Your Resume on Monster

Do you want employers to find your resume on Monster? Are you currently employed and need to be more careful about who can see your posted resume? Not all job searches are alike, so Monster allows flexibility in how you post your resume. Your resume options are described below:

  • Visible Resume: Choosing the visible (searchable) resume option allows employers to find your resume when they search the Monster resume database. Because employers may search for candidates before they post a job on Monster, choosing the visible option will give you the widest possible access to job opportunities. Visible resumes are viewable by employers -- not other Monster members.
  • Visible and Limited Resumes: Do you prefer to keep your job search more private? You can save your resume as visible and limited, which hides your contact info, current company and references. Employers will be able to contact you via a confidential Monster email address. You can then view the job listing and decide whether to respond.

    Important: If you choose to hide your contact information, current company and references, you must also remove this information from your uploaded Word resume or Copy & Paste text resume.

  • Private Resumes: Choosing the private (nonsearchable) resume option will prevent employers from finding your resume on Monster during resume searches. However, you can still search for jobs and apply online using a private resume.

More Resources:

  • Monster Company Search
  • Better Business Bureau
  • Anti-Phishing Working Group
  • FraudWatch International
  • Consumer Sentinel
  • Federal Trade Commission
  • How Not to Get Hooked by a Phishing Scam
  • Avoiding Identity Theft
  • Detecting Deceptive Job Ads
  • Looks Too Good to Be True
  • OnGuard Online: Guard Against Internet Fraud