Jun 4 2023, 10:54 AM, updated 3y ago
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/someone-stea...e-resume-writer
QUOTE
What leaps to mind when someone mentions resume fraud? A high-profile executive that is fired in disgrace after lying about the college degrees they never obtained? While that still happens, the newer resume fraud occurs when a jobseeker steals content, often just copying and pasting information from someone else’s resume. It is particularly rampant in the IT industry, where shady offshore recruiting firms copy US resumes for their clients to make them more marketable in America.
It doesn’t end there. Just as common are cases of unsuspecting jobseekers that send their resume to co-workers, friends, and family for “their opinion.” This makes it very easy for the recipients to use the resume as their own if the occasion arises. Imagine a peer at work who has the same title and worked on the same projects with you over several years; there would probably be a lot of crossover in duties. Even so, would you feel comfortable with them using your resume, especially if you paid for it to be professionally written?
I recall an HR Director who wanted me to coach him on interviewing. He told me the “secret” to his "great" resume. He just keyword searched resumes in his company’s ATS database, pulled out ones that closely matched his skills, and pasted together the document. When I questioned his ethics, he just shrugged his shoulders and said, “it’s common practice.”
If that isn’t enough of an insult to jobseekers, there has also been an uptick in resume piracy. This is when unscrupulous recruiters pull resumes off job boards or LinkedIn, then send them out to companies without the jobseekers knowledge or permission. This, along with identity theft resulting from information stolen off resumes, leads to a host of problems that could merit a whole other article.
What can you do? Here are some suggestions to reduce the odds of becoming a victim of resume theft:
-Protect your document before submitting it online or sending via email. A secure PDF is the most difficult to copy.
-Make sure your resume reflects many achievements specific to you. If someone is thinking of stealing your content, achievements are more difficult to justify in an interview, and they may think twice.
-Don’t put your driver's license or social security numbers, date of birth, or marital status on your resume.
-Thoroughly read the privacy policy of the sites where you post your resume. Make sure they won’t sell your resume and have adequate privacy controls in place.
-Avoid submitting your resume for a “free resume critique.” Many of these services don’t provide useful advice to really improve your resume, and you don’t know how they will use your resume after you submit it.
-If a job posting has a vague or poorly written description, avoid it.
-Limit posting your resume on job boards. I know it sounds heretical to someone in the midst of a job search, but when you realize the majority of jobs are never posted online, the odds for success are low anyway. Spend your time networking and selectively sending out your resume, instead of competing with 100’s of jobseekers online for a position that may already have an internal candidate lined up to fill it.
-Treat your resume as you would any of your valuable identity papers. Doing so will limit your chances of being a resume theft victim, and protect your hard-earned career history from aiding someone else in getting the position you deserve.
It doesn’t end there. Just as common are cases of unsuspecting jobseekers that send their resume to co-workers, friends, and family for “their opinion.” This makes it very easy for the recipients to use the resume as their own if the occasion arises. Imagine a peer at work who has the same title and worked on the same projects with you over several years; there would probably be a lot of crossover in duties. Even so, would you feel comfortable with them using your resume, especially if you paid for it to be professionally written?
I recall an HR Director who wanted me to coach him on interviewing. He told me the “secret” to his "great" resume. He just keyword searched resumes in his company’s ATS database, pulled out ones that closely matched his skills, and pasted together the document. When I questioned his ethics, he just shrugged his shoulders and said, “it’s common practice.”
If that isn’t enough of an insult to jobseekers, there has also been an uptick in resume piracy. This is when unscrupulous recruiters pull resumes off job boards or LinkedIn, then send them out to companies without the jobseekers knowledge or permission. This, along with identity theft resulting from information stolen off resumes, leads to a host of problems that could merit a whole other article.
What can you do? Here are some suggestions to reduce the odds of becoming a victim of resume theft:
-Protect your document before submitting it online or sending via email. A secure PDF is the most difficult to copy.
-Make sure your resume reflects many achievements specific to you. If someone is thinking of stealing your content, achievements are more difficult to justify in an interview, and they may think twice.
-Don’t put your driver's license or social security numbers, date of birth, or marital status on your resume.
-Thoroughly read the privacy policy of the sites where you post your resume. Make sure they won’t sell your resume and have adequate privacy controls in place.
-Avoid submitting your resume for a “free resume critique.” Many of these services don’t provide useful advice to really improve your resume, and you don’t know how they will use your resume after you submit it.
-If a job posting has a vague or poorly written description, avoid it.
-Limit posting your resume on job boards. I know it sounds heretical to someone in the midst of a job search, but when you realize the majority of jobs are never posted online, the odds for success are low anyway. Spend your time networking and selectively sending out your resume, instead of competing with 100’s of jobseekers online for a position that may already have an internal candidate lined up to fill it.
-Treat your resume as you would any of your valuable identity papers. Doing so will limit your chances of being a resume theft victim, and protect your hard-earned career history from aiding someone else in getting the position you deserve.
Resume piracy is rising again now because of job scarcity. There will be people who will harvest/forge your resume and change it to their own names inside to fake their job hunting.
That's why job recruitment sites such as Jobstreet, Indeed and many others try limit your your resume posting and only provide physical copies when you're invited for interviews.
During the interviews, do not provide sensitive information such as IC copies, your driving license copies, bank details before they confirm your employment.
Sensitive information should not be given unless you have been confirmed with the job after the interview.
Is Malaysian PDPA going to look into this issue? Not sure if our government is aware about the PDPA but Malaysian recruiters are now asking interviewer candidates to provide EPF/LHDN/SOCSO/Bank Account details including photostatting your identity card/driving license even before they confirm your hiring. Be careful when asked to provide such information. Goodluck.
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