By Roger Lear

If you are like thousands of other candidates looking for a job, you have posted your resume on online sites so potential employers can access your background and present job openings that match. Seems pretty simple! However, do you know what that site is doing to protect your privacy?

In the past couple of weeks, candidates that registered with Monster.com (read article) had resume information stolen by some "Trojan" software. While this is a major issue with any online services you use (banking, shopping, etc.), you do have an opportunity to protect you privacy. Here are some of our suggestions when dealing with online employment sites:

1) Make sure the site has a Privacy Policy. You must read this statement and agree with the terms. If you don't, don't post your resume! If the site doesn't have a privacy statement, do not post your resume unless you don't already get enough spam email. Make sure in the privacy statement that YOU have control of your information.

2) I suggest using a new email address for every employment website that you post your resume on. That way you can identify any bogus emails sent to that address. If the job site you posted your resume to follows their privacy policy, you should not get any other emails except from the site a employers. (Make sure you keep the email address professional)

3) Never put your social security number, date of birth or financial data in your resume. If a site ever asks you for a social security number, DO NOT use that site!

4) Does the employment site have a phone number and customer service department or is everything done online? Any questions you have should be able to be answered individually through a phone number or dedicated email. GreatInsuranceJobs.com's phone number is 800-818-4898.

5) Pick two or three sites that you feel can help your chances of securing employment and post your resume there. Do not post your resume to multiple sites.

6) Not every job offer you see is real and could be a scam. Most reputable job sites make sure their clients are real with real jobs. If you see work at home jobs or make $1,000 a day type jobs posted on a website, DO NOT post your resume. The type of companies an employment website has tells a lot about the site. If they accept these types of jobs, what are they doing with your background?

7) To protect your privacy, many job posting websites allow you to post your resume confidentially. This is a good option if you are currently employed as well as one more way to protect your privacy. The downside is an employer that wants to contact you immediately has to email you at a confidential address. You may miss the interview.

Privacy is very important. At GreatInsuranceJobs.com, we do everything we can think of to make sure your online experience is safe and secure.