Industry News
The Internet Can Be Dangerous to Your Job Search
Experts Caution Users
Is the Internet a good way to look for a job?
John A. Challenger, chief executive officer of the global outplacement consultancy,
Challenger Gray & Christmas, Inc., believes they have limited value.
"The number of job search engines has grown in recent years from a handful of major
players, such as Monster.com and HotJobs.com, to hundreds of sites, offering everything
from industry-specific and localized job search engines to dating service-like compatibility
matching between job seekers and employers," said Challenger who believes the Internet,
while useful for job seekers, has become the primary means of seeking a job when
it should be considered secondary to meeting people face-to-face.
"Those who make the Internet their primary job search tool are likely prolonging
the time it takes to find a position." said Challenger. "Overuse of the Internet
also threatens to prolong the hiring process on the employer's end, as well, by
inundating employers with irrelevant resumes. Some human resource executives complain
that for every qualified candidate that comes in from the Internet, there are 10
to 20 who do not even come close to being a good fit."
Nevertheless, most job hunters prefer to use the Internet for job searches and most
companies are accommodating them. While this trend is likely to continue growing,
there are other problems connected with it. Security is a big one.
According to an August 5, 2008 USA Today article, there is a new program used by
criminal hackers called ZueS. It was written by a Russian programmer known as A-Z.
While no one knows the actual identity of this computer whiz, many people know the
damage his product can cause.
In 2007, for example, A-Z formed a partnership with a German cyber gang that resulted
in the theft of $6 million from thousands of online banking patrons, reports USA
Today.
ZueS was also used to swipe 1.6 million sensitive records from job seekers at Monster.com
and several other online job sites. Monster has since become "extremely aggressive"
in its efforts to prevent fraud, says Monster.com spokesman Steve Sylven in USA
Today. "We continually refine our site technologies to prevent unauthorized access
to Monster services," he said.
Between employers getting deluged with resumes and the possible security risks involved
with Internet job sites, there is a middle ground that most people can navigate
effectively. Challenger offers some advice:
Use E-mail
The more people who know you are seeking a job, the faster you will find a job.
E-mail is perhaps now the fastest, most efficient way to publicize your joblessness.
Send an e-mail to everyone on your address list letting them know that you are unemployed,
providing some brief information about the type of position you are seeking and
your qualifications. Ask the reader to forward the information to their list of
e-mail contacts, who will then forward the message to their address list. In a matter
of days, the numbers of people who know you are job searching will have grown exponentially
along with the odds of finding someone who can help.
Connect to social networks
If you already have Facebook and/or MySpace accounts, turn those sites into job-search
tools by using them to inform your network of "friends" that you are seeking a job.
Most of them may not be in a position to hire you, but many may know of opportunities
or can spread the word to new people in their networks. Additionally, take down
the pictures of last weekend's big party and post photos, writing samples, etc.,
that will give employers some insight about what you have to offer. Other networking
sites such as LinkedIn and Plaxo are geared more toward professionals and should
also be used to build, expand and mine your various networks of friends, family
and business contacts.
Be careful of the social network sites, however. According to an August 10, 2008
article posted on theage.com, these sites could compromise the privacy of all users:
"Meanwhile, as US and British research confirms, the sites may compromise the privacy
of all users, not just those who use their Facebook page as an illustrated private
diary. Earlier this year, US law professor Jeffrey Rosen warned a legal futures
conference that the widespread use of these sites — and the gathering of commercial
information from them — present the threat of "privacy Chernobyls". He cited
Facebook's tracking of its members' purchases, and AOL accidentally revealing the
details of 650,000 people's internet searches in 2006."
"Newspaper headlines testify to the pain of people who have voluntarily surrendered
some privacy by posting intimate information on Facebook or MySpace, only to see
it spread far beyond the group of "friends" for whom it was originally intended."
In general, Internet job posting will continue to grow as a popular way to fill
jobs – especially with security on these sites getting stronger. It is important,
however, to use caution and discretion about how much personal information to include.
Leave that for the interview.
To read more about this topic, go to:
http://www.scmagazineus.com/The-real-cost-of-a-security-breach/article/113717/
http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2008/08/09/1218139163632.html
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/computersecurity/2008-08-04-hacker-cybercrime-zeus-identity-theft_N.htm
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