New research has shown that there are a few simple mistakes people are making that are putting them at risk to hackers when job hunting.
The survey of 2,000 workers by CV-Library revealed that over half (59%) of Brits worry about their CV information being stolen.
Interestingly, the report found that the majority of people are including unnecessary personal information on their CVs, such as:
– Their full name (90.3%)
– Postal address (78.5%)
– Date of birth (50.5%)
– Contact details for referees (35.8%)
– Place of birth (16.3%)
– National Insurance number (10.3%)
Lee Biggins, founder and managing director of CV-Library, said, “Your skills, experience and what makes you relevant for the job should be the main focus of your CV. Personal details like your date or place of birth and your national insurance number are completely unnecessary and we’d strongly advise that you don’t give this type of information out.
“Of course, it’s not unusual to include your full name or postal address, especially as your location can improve your CV’s chances of being found on a job board, but it’s important to be wary about the type of information you’re giving out and who it’s going to.”
Despite 83.4% of Brits being aware that hackers could access their personal details if they were to get into their emails, one in five (19%) said they’d used the same email password to register their CV online.
As many as 22.2% of professionals said they had been hacked – rising to 30.6% for individuals based in Wales, 29.3% in East Anglia, 27% in the South West and 26.7% in Northern Ireland.
Biggins added, “Not only is your email account a gateway to a vast amount of information, hackers could also use your email account to access many of your other personal accounts. Therefore, it’s important to follow the government’s advice on using a strong and separate password for email accounts, as well as installing the latest software and app updates.
“With campaigns like Cyber Aware working hard to combat cyber crime and help people to conduct a secure job search, we hope that job hunters across the UK can focus on producing a winning CV and secure the right role for them.”
Cyber Aware recommends the following five tips for staying more secure online:
1. Use a string and separate password for your email
2. Always download the latest software and app updates
3. Activate two step authentication on your email
4. Use password managers to store passwords for your less important accounts
5. Avoid clicking on suspicious links.
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