Don't Post Your Resume!

First published in 2019; updated November 2026.

Breakthrough technological advances are making life easier- while presenting a complex myriad of security threats. Internet fraud and identity theft are unfortunate realities in the rapidly evolving technological sphere we all live and work in. And there's an unlikely source destabilizing your information's security- your résumé.

The ways people find jobs these days are vastly different from the old-fashioned standards of a less technologically advanced past. Walk-ins and newspaper ads are more obsolete than ever now. Job boards, social media, recruiter sites, and staffing agencies are the gold standard in employment today. Jobs are primarily advertised and found online. Once, résumés were hard copies guaranteed to be seen by only a small number of people. But public résumé databases are available to millions of users at any time. Critical information, including home addresses and phone numbers, are standard on résumés - and are the type of information scammers and fraudsters are looking for. Your data’s security isn’t always guaranteed.

Maintaining data security is critical to prevent unauthorized access and usage of private data.

Scammers trawl emails by posing as recruiters, internet job boards, or employers, sending unsolicited offers or promises of opportunities to job seekers. Their goal is your personal information- which can help them commit crimes against you- or even in your name. Practicing due diligence when responding to or ignoring these sorts of emails goes a long way to protecting your assets. Oftentimes, however, even secured and vetted websites can sell, leak, or otherwise lose your information- if they ever even bothered to protect it properly in the first place. Scammers will also trawl these sites to find loosely secured or improperly stored information.

Javelin Strategy & Research’s 2018 Identity Fraud Study found that 16.7 million US consumers were victims of identity fraud in 2017. The devastating effects of identity theft and internet fraud are obvious and innumerable. Even seemingly innocuous information- like what’s found on your résumé- is fair game for misappropriation.

Online platforms like Automate America keep your information secure until you’re ready to make it available. It’s part of AA’s mission to keep you in control of your information- and share only what you’re comfortable with. Automate America runs on Amazon Web Services.

Your phone number and email are not shown on your public profile. They are shared when you choose to share them. For example, connect with someone you've worked with, and when the connection is mutual, you each get the other's phone and email.

Maintaining privacy is an increasingly important necessity when even seemingly benign pieces of personal information can cause damage if it falls into the wrong hands. Information is bought and sold through online platforms, and the clauses found in fine print that may permit sites to legally do this aren't always clear or made readily available to consumers. Automate America is transparent in how it keeps your data secure.

Skip the public résumé. Build a profile that shows your work instead, so customers trust you before they ever talk to you.

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