By Gretchen S. Herault, CIPP

Using the Internet to network and apply for jobs can be a powerful way to advance your career and improve your life. It’s a fast and convenient way to get your name out there and garner interest in your talents and experience. But with the Internet, you should be mindful of what it means to get your name out.

At Monster, we maintain a resume database that allows employers worldwide to search for talented candidates to fill their open positions. Since your career may last decades, we expect you’ll return to Monster as your career evolves. Therefore, we keep the personal information you provide us until you tell us not to keep it any longer, or we will delete it on a periodic basis if you have not logged into your account for three years or more. (You may call 1-800-MONSTER to ask us to remove your information. However, we may still keep a copy of your resume for archival purposes.)

When you use Monster to create or post a resume, you need to determine how much of your information you want public. You can do that by activating one of three resume privacy settings that let you control the degree of exposure your resume receives:

• Private: Resumes set to private cannot be found in a search of our database, and contact information is not viewable. 
   
• Public and Confidential: Confidential resumes are searchable by anyone with access to our database. However, if you hide your contact information, it won’t be viewable unless you apply for a job. To hide your contact information, do not include it on the resume you upload. 
   
• Public: Public resumes can be found in a database search and contact information is viewable by anyone with database access, even if the job seeker doesn’t apply for a particular job.  

You can change the setting on your resume at any time. If you have more than one resume stored in the Monster database, only one resume at a time can be set to public.

Like other Web sites, Monster doesn’t control what happens with job seekers’ information or resumes once third parties have accessed them. As with any career or networking site, the general rule is: If you don’t want your friends, family or boss to know about it, don’t post it online. Once you’ve set your information to public, understand that you really are getting your name -- and a whole lot more -- out there.

For more on how Monster collects and uses your information, please read our Privacy Statement.