# Posting your resume online: Pitfalls? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 26, 2008, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/posting-your-resume-online-pitfalls/435102 "2008-01-26T16:47:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2008, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/posting-your-resume-online-pitfalls/435102/1 "2008-01-26T16:47:18Z")
Maybe I’m paranoid, but I’m a little wary of posting my resume online, even if I do hide my name. It wouldn’t be hard to narrow down who has posted the resume, even if I leave out my name. Should I be concerned with posting my resume online? Has anyone had any success getting a job this way? ---
**Author:** ![Fugazi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f08c70/32.png) [@Fugazi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fugazi)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2008, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/posting-your-resume-online-pitfalls/435102/2 "2008-01-26T18:47:34Z")
I’ve had my resume’ on line for the last 6 years or so. I recently updated it, and have been getting all kinds of calls. I’m in telecom, by the way. Unfortunately, they’re all for lateral moves, which I have no interest in doing. Why would you be reluctant to put your resume’ on line? Afraid of your current employer seeing it? Or worried about crackpots? I’ve never had any problems with either one. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2008, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/posting-your-resume-online-pitfalls/435102/3 "2008-01-26T19:26:21Z")
I have mine posted online, but I’ve never gotten a job from it. My jobs have either come from networking or applying to ads via Monster. It is about 50-50 for those two ways. I did have a few interesting calls last year to my resume, but none of them panned out well. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2008, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/posting-your-resume-online-pitfalls/435102/4 "2008-01-26T20:56:33Z")
[QUOTE=Fugazi] Afraid of your current employer seeing it? [/QUOTE] Yes. Am I being silly? They would be able to identify me from my resume, even if I left off my name. ---
**Author:** ![Contrary](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/db5fbb/32.png) [@Contrary](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrary)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2008, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/posting-your-resume-online-pitfalls/435102/5 "2008-01-26T23:26:42Z")
[QUOTE=ivylass] Yes. Am I being silly? They would be able to identify me from my resume, even if I left off my name. [/QUOTE] And wouldn’t that occur because they would be searching for someone with your skill set? I have a couple versions of mine online, also in telecom (waves at Fugazi) and I find it helpful to both increase exposure and identify other opportunities. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2008, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/posting-your-resume-online-pitfalls/435102/6 "2008-01-26T23:28:29Z")
Okay, I’ll give it a whirl. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Emmy2635](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/919ad9/32.png) [@Emmy2635](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Emmy2635)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2008, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/posting-your-resume-online-pitfalls/435102/7 "2008-01-27T04:01:04Z")
It depends on your employer. At my company, we do vanity searches on Monster and Careerbuilder regularly to find employees who may be looking for new jobs. And yes, even “Confidential” resumes usually have the employee’s name somewhere, or we can figure it out based on the position/dates of employment. We only use the information for retention purposes – we go ask the employee about it, usually, to find out if there is a reason for it. But some companies may be a little more strict. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2008, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/posting-your-resume-online-pitfalls/435102/8 "2008-01-27T04:50:10Z")
You do get some spam and some offers for jobs that are really “work at home scams”. But it is _the_ way of getting jobs today, right after networking. Forget about applying for jobs through classified ads. So, go for it.