Nowadays, we always hear the word “data” being thrown about, but it can be safely said that the average individual takes their data and its privacy for granted. With all activities you do on the internet, there are some forms of data being taken, which is also why you will often see targeted ads pop up on your feed.
This data can also be brought into question when hunting for jobs online. While companies, such as Lensa, use your data to simply identify what jobs would best suit you and so on, it can become a risky path on unknown websites.
Both data security and their use in analytics come into play on job search platforms. In this article, we will recommend certain practices to follow to protect your personal information while searching for jobs online, as well as healthy practices that translate to this online environment.
Follow healthy password practices
Countless websites provide you with benefits if you register to their site, including various job search sites. During your job search, you are likely to encounter pop-ups that ask you to sign in to use certain features a job search website may have. We will get into the protection of privacy for these instances later.
As for your passwords, the first step is creating a strong and secure password. Many websites give your recommendations on password strength, which is especially useful for accounts that could hold sensitive personal information.
A strong password usually has uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, or special characters when possible. It is recommended that a password be longer than eight characters. Try choosing something that isn’t made up of simple words, but rather characters in a varied order. Using personal names or information as a password is not recommended.
You should also avoid using the same password for various accounts, instead, create different ones for each account you make. With all these different passwords, you may want to research reliable password managers so you can keep your passwords organized. If not, try keeping them in a notepad that stays safe in your possession.
To go a step further in your data security habits, enable two-step authentication whenever possible to reliably sign into your accounts using your password and a code that gets sent to your device. This method protects your account from being signed in even if someone else may know your password.
Keep your resume safe
Your resume is the primary thing you need when applying to jobs, except it has all of your personal information on it. To keep it safe, you can use reliable software that generates expiring links for recruiters to view your resume for a set period. This keeps your data from being stored wrongly or stolen by third parties. Encrypting is also a highly recommended tool for sensitive files.
Know your rights
In contrast to the common assumption, companies don’t have automatic access to your digital footprint thanks to various legislations and regulations that have been instated to protect your data privacy to varying extents.
Firstly, with some of these regulations, the only way a company can access your digital footprint is through explicit consent from you (depending on where you live). You also have the option to completely wipe yourself from their database for security purposes.
Common sense
Through common sense, we mean being wary of scams and naive decisions on the internet. Scammers often spoof websites, meaning they mimic them by altering the URL slightly to trick you into thinking they’re the official thing. This could lead to you willingly entering sensitive personal data by accident.
The best way around this is to know trustworthy website URLs or contact companies about their vacant positions directly to avoid any third parties in your job search process. Seeing too many ads on various portals for the job is also a worrisome fact that shouldn’t be trusted,
There are also many scams during job searching where they convince you to send them money, checks, and so on. A job search should never cost a sum of money, thus, you should assume these are fraudulent. By sending money, you also give away your card details, exposing you to financial dangers such as theft.
If a job listing sounds too good to be true, you should be doubtful. Always look into the company you are wishing to apply for by doing extensive research on them through the internet. This includes past achievements for the company and future outlooks as well.
Conclusion
Dangers hide everywhere on the internet and if government entities aren’t safe, you won’t pose many challenges for cyber attackers either. As long as you make smart decisions and remain calm when browsing for a job online, you won’t run into trouble with your cybersecurity.
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