Privacy Investigator Recognizes MedZilla.com as an Outstanding Career Site; New Report Tells Job Seekers What Most Job Boards, Corporate and Government Employment Web Sites Don’t
MedZilla.com was recently recognized for its privacy practices as one of three outstanding employment Web sites by journalist Pam Dixon. Dixon reviewed 53 top job sites, 20 resume writing services and a 24 resume distribution services in her new report, the 2003 Job Search Privacy Study.
Marysville, WA (PRWEB) November 21, 2003 -- Known for her exposés about the
online employment industry, journalist and author Pam Dixon released her newest
groundbreaking report on November 11. In The 2003 Job Search Privacy Study, she
details the good and bad privacy practices of 53 job sites, 20 resume writing
services and 24 resume distribution services. She also looked at a new online
employment trend: online application kiosks, which can be found in large
retailers.
According to Dixon, the goal of the study is to be a privacy
benchmark. “I chose the largest and most popular sites—sites with the most
impact on consumers. I spent about 1,000 hours studying them and figuring out
what they were doing behind the scenes.”
During a recent press
conference, Dixon discussed the report’s findings. When asked if there existed
any outstanding career sites, she replied with a resounding “Yes!” Three web
sites stood out, she said, for their outstanding privacy practices:
MedZilla.com, NationJob.com and Craigslist.org. She commented that MedZilla was
an “incredible” job site. When she posted resumes (using pseudo identities),
there were no third party cookies, no web bugs, no spam, “no nonsense, and two
good job offers.”
“Those three sites stood out to me as being really
exemplary,” she says.
“We take the privacy of our candidates very
seriously. Pam Dixon is well regarded and respected in this industry for her
candid and accurate accounts about what job seekers don’t know about what
happens to their resumes. We are pleased that she recognized our positive
efforts in her latest report,” says Frank Heasley, PhD, President and CEO of
MedZilla.com, a leading Internet recruitment and professional community that
serves professionals and employers in biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, healthcare
and science.
The Findings
Dixon reported some positive trends. She
says that most job sites post privacy policies and, for the most part, responded
to her queries about privacy within two days or less. More sites, she says, are
supporting anonymous access to job postings, and slightly more are also allowing
companies to post full contact information in job advertisements.
But the
news is not all good. In fact, Dixon revealed serious issues, including civil
rights violations. She explains that sites which ask about race, gender,
nationality or religion should be asking permission, stating it is voluntary
that job seekers answer those questions and keeping the information separate
from the rest of the data. “What this study found online is that the sites are
routinely violating that,” she says.
Another problem, according to
Dixon, is the online collection of social security numbers. “Very few sites
actually collect social security numbers anymore, but the sites that do are very
problematic,” she says. Many of the sites and kiosks that do ask for SSNs do so
to run instant background checks. The problem, she says, is that third parties
get hold of the information—even when job seekers are applying with the United
States government.
Dixon also points out that job sites in general have
gotten very sophisticated in their data gathering. Job seekers may not be
overwhelmed with spam like they used to, but their actions (where and when they
log on, what key words they use, etc.) are often being recorded and dispersed to
advertising networks.
“Candidates have a right to know who is viewing
their resume,” says Michele Groutage, Director of Marketing for MedZilla.
“MedZilla is one of the few job boards around that notifies candidates with the
company name and name or title of the individual reviewing their resume.
Additionally, candidates can remove their resume from viewing at
anytime.”
Points to remember
Job seekers need
to become more knowledgeable about cookies, Dixon says. She suggests that job
seekers use “anonymizing” services or just turn off third party
cookies.
Beth Givens, director of the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, says
that it’s more important than ever that job seekers only use sites that have
privacy policies. Though they might be cumbersome and full of legalese, it’s
just as important that people read the policies. Avoid sites whose policies
include red flag terms, like “sharing information with our trusted business
partners.” Beware of Web sites that have hard-to-find privacy policies and
others that make shady-sounding job offers. Sites shouldn’t be asking overly
intrusive questions, according to the report, nor should they require SSNs.
Corporate job sites are no exception
Job candidates are often
under the mistaken impression that posting on a corporate Web site is safer than
using a job board or other service. However, Dixon reveals that even government
sites use other servers, such as that of Monster.com. “When you look for a job
now, you’re going to touch a middle man …. I think it’s really a negative change
in the paradigm. Absolutely, the corporate Web sites have work to do,” she
says.
Dixon urges corporate Web sites to let job candidates know that
their resumes go through third party servers.
A valuable
resource
“Job seekers should use this report to get tips about what to
look for in job boards and other employment Web sites,” Dr. Heasley says. “They
can even look up specific sites and see how they rank. It’s a valuable tool for
job seekers, because they need to know where their information is
going.”
About MedZilla.com
Established in mid 1994, MedZilla is
the original web site to serve career and hiring needs for professionals and
employers in biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, medicine, science and healthcare.
MedZilla databases contain about 10,000 open positions, 13,000 resumes from
candidates actively seeking new positions and 50,000 archived
resumes.
Medzilla® is a Registered Trademark owned by Medzilla Inc.
Copyright ©2003, MedZilla, Inc. Permission is granted to reproduce and
distribute this text in its entirety, and if electronically, with a link to the
URL www.medzilla.com. For permission to quote from or reproduce
any portion of this message, please contact Michele Groutage, Director of
Marketing and Development, MedZilla, Inc. Email: e-mail protected from spam
bots.
Press Inquiries:
Contact: Michele Groutage
Company:
MedZilla, Inc.
Title: Director of Marketing & Development
Phone:
360-657-5681
Email: e-mail protected from spam bots
URL: http://www.medzilla.com
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Source : http://www.prweb.com/releases/2003/11/prweb90372.htm