Job Sites

There is now a myriad of online job sites available to job seekers and many allow you to upload your CV and apply for jobs automatically.

And therein lies the problem.

Automating your job search is not really a great idea, because the way these sites work is to match new job requirements to a profile that you have to define from a series of questions on a form.

When a position is advertised on the web site that broadly matches your requirements, an application is automatically made on your behalf, usually without your prior knowledge.

Other sites work differently and allow registered recruitment agencies or potential employers to search their CV databases for suitably qualified candidates.

If certain key words or phrases appear in your CV, the employer will download your CV (along with others of course) and consider your against their vacancy (vacancies).

On the face of it, this seems like a good idea, but is it?

What if your current employer is one of those looking? What if the key phrase they are looking for is the company name, in order to see whether any current employees are looking for alternative jobs?

Do you see the potential for abuse with these sites? Your information is not secure and your are not in complete control of your own information.

Suddenly, information that you considered private is pretty much in the public domain for any organisation prepared to pay the small download fee.

Though some sites no doubt have safeguards in place to prevent certain people looking at your profile, how can they possibly guarantee that your CV is not going to fall into the wrong hands?

I don't think that they can. And, if you think you can rely on a line manager's discretion if they happen to come across your CV online, then you'll be in for a pretty nasty shock.

By placing your CV onto online job sites and social networking sites, you are potentially putting your current job at risk.

No employer wants to think that their staff or management is seeking alternative employment, so why risk creating a problem for yourself?

There are much more efficient methods of applying for positions than by registering indiscriminately on job sites, so for your own security, I strongly recommend that you steer clear of sites that claim to automate your job search.

You should be aiming a lot higher than that and making very selective job applications for positions that you really want.

Leave these fishing sites for the desperate. They really aren't for the discerning job seeker.