Job Board Risk: Is Your Personal Information in the Wrong Hands?

By Alexis Stiebe

Online job boards are one more way the digital age has made our lives easier and more convenient, right? Not so much. In reality, job boards can be predatory, ineffective and a security risk. Do you really know who you are sending all of your personal information to? Do you know for certain that the hiring manager will ever see your application?

We see new job board sites crop up every day. Our positions even show up on them. Just because a position is listed on a job board site, doesn’t mean the employer or recruiting agency placed it there. Many job boards use web scraping to aggregate job listings.

Even more reputable job boards, that allow employers and recruiters to list their open positions for a fee, erect awkward barriers between both the candidate and the employer.

From the job seeker perspective, you may fill out a lengthy application form and click submit only to be faced with a redirect button. You’re then prompted to complete the application again on the employer’s or recruiter’s website. That first form is only for the job board’s use. Someone other than the employer is receiving the information if you have to fill out an application twice.

For recruiters and hiring managers, we may miss out on your info if you didn’t see that second redirect button. Posting our positions on multiple websites is costly, time consuming and disorganized. Remember that first form that wasn’t really the application? Often times your information is locked behind a pay wall. Inaccessible to human resources and recruiters unless they pay for access.

This also means that anyone can pay for the same access. Job boards often sell lists of job seeker information that meet whatever criteria the purchaser asks for. Your personal information is then at risk. Best case scenario, you’ll receive unsolicited marketing calls or see suspiciously targeted advertising as you browse the web. Maybe your current boss will find your application and realize you’re shopping around for a better opportunity. Worst case, your personal identifying information can be used for phishing scams and other fraudulent uses.

You may be wondering how you can find a better position if job boards are unreliable and risky. Networking is the solution. You should always be expanding your network within your industry. Unlike job boards, Linkedin is a great place to network online and connect with the real decision makers. We recently shared an article on the best ways to use Linkedin to network with recruiters.

The recruiters at Career 1 Source take confidentiality very seriously. We never want to put your current position at risk. Recruiters also have access to exclusive positions that are never posted on job boards. Employers trust us to find a professional that matches the unique qualities they are looking for in an employee. As such, all of our career opportunities are real and current. Whether you apply to one of our openings through our website, or are contacted by a recruiter directly, trust that we act with integrity and have the best interests of both the employer and job seeker in mind. Contact us here to learn more.