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Ask HN: Maintaining Privacy While Job Hunting

10 points by nercht12 ↗ HN
Sometimes admitting that you're looking for a job sounds embarrassing in public (at least online it doesn't feel so lonely), but being poor at networking means the alternative is looking online for work. I used to let headhunters bug me, but I keep getting emails from strange foreign headhunters (Akhmed wants my private details) who I've never sent my info to (and don't want to). The alternative is either searching company sites one-by-one (the hard way) or going to sites like Monster and posting a resume hoping to be detected by someone actually looking to hire and not merely harvest (which is what happened). At what point do you say "no" to info grabbing? When do you stop filling out a form and ask yourself what's too much? And finally, if you have a private website, how do you make yourself look interesting (esp. to those HR types who are looking for a "culture fit" when their job ad calls for a techie) without giving away intimate details? Or am I really just asking for an oxy-moron... (probably) (And please, no-one suggest LinkedIn. I deleted my account as it was being used as a spy tool for unwanted parties.)

8 comments

[ 4.2 ms ] story [ 36.9 ms ] thread
chatmasta
Do you consider your resume "private" information? If so, why? Is there a way you can edit it to make a "public" version and a "private" version?
nercht12
No. I do post my resume on places, but some places ask for info I'm not comfortable giving, and I've been made aware of the fact that one's resume is a relatively boring piece of paper that isn't going to get your foot in the door. From what I've read, it seems HR - if they take any interest in you - starts looking beyond the resume and wants to see more of who you are. It's not that I don't see the sense in it - they're people-people, that's why they're in Human Relations - just that their metric requires an increasing exposure of more personally-identifying information, which, as you know, these days is pretty easy to steal.
[deleted]
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brudgers
Random advice from the internet:

being poor at networking means the alternative is looking online for work

That's one alternative. The other alternative is developing a better network. Talking to recruiters is developing a network, just not necessarily a good one. Meetups, open source projects, blogs, conferences, Tweetergrambook, etc. are other ways of building a network ranging from personal contact to personal branding.

Consider building a network as research. Maybe you hear about a great place to work at the price of effort outside your comfort zone.

Good luck.

nercht12
Thanks! I did stretch out alittle at a meetup I regularly attend and dropped the word and I got passed the word about a job offer, so it seems to be paying off.
Amir6
What a good question. If I was not in the position that I'm currently in, I would have been struggling with the same issue.

My conclusion which may not be applicable to your situation is trying to start something yourself so that I can be on the other side of the table hiring people instead. It may be a bit too high to achieve but comes with a lot of benefits including protecting your privacy.

nercht12
I'd definitely like to start a biz, but to start a business you need to fill a need in the market. Where else to get ideas but working for someone else? Oppsdaily is good source, although it'd be nice to find more sources of need. There'd probably be more indies if that was the case.
kablaa
I've also been struggling with this. I decided against putting my full name on any of my projects or social media, but I was still able to link those things to my resume. I guess I figure with enough work people could probably DOX me, but that is a risk I'm willing to take in order to be able to take credit for my projects and show them off to employers