How Safe is Your Employment Application Data? 74
Carlos asks: "I recently returned to the U.S. after working overseas for the past 16 years. As I visit job sites and corporate sites, I'm finding two issues with applying online I hope Slashdot readers could comment on. I understand security and background checks are important to most employers. However, it seems to me that far too many online applications are asking for sensitive data, such as my social security number and driver's license number. How long is my data stored in their database? Who has access to such data? It seems that every month we hear about a company that has customer/client data stolen or mishandled. I feel that such data shouldn't be required during 'step one' (ie filling out the initial online account in the career section). I'll provide such data when I've been contacted by a staff for an interview. Do Slashdot readers simply bypass such employers, or do they just hand over their identity?"
Another point relates to the pages upon pages we have to endure with an online application. Some companies make the process smooth, for example using a form of OCR with an uploaded resume. There's nothing worse than getting to step 9 (out of 20 steps) and getting a timeout error in your browser. I hope HR people who are reading this, will take a closer look at their employment process. I'm sure some readers might say, 'They make the process hard on purpose — weeding out the lazy applicants.' I fully understand this point and I'm not looking for an easy way into a company, but filling out 20 step applications at 30 companies a day, everyday, can eat a lot of time when hunting for a position."
WTF is this? (Score:2, Funny)
I'm a little paranoid, so what is this supposed to tell me? My employment application data is really safe, because it isn't here to see; or, there is nothing to see because things are so bad that my data is all over the internet and I shouldn't even bother asking how many people have applied for credit in my name?
Re:Not worried about employment application data (Score:2, Funny)
Re:Not worried about employment application data (Score:3, Funny)
One of your colleages was Edward Nigma? [wikipedia.org]
I'm not surprised you were looking for another job.