With all the talk surrounding hackers stealing job seeker data from Monster's resume database, one company actually has a refreshing approach to keeping it safe. Jobtarget. Their resume database was built with the job seeker in mind and gives them control over who can get their contact information.

Here's how it works:

Search hundreds of thousands of candidate profiles from nearly 1,000 job sites! All profiles are anonymous. Send contact requests to your chosen candidates. If a candidate is interested in your opportunity, you can purchase access to their contact information for $30. If the candidate is not interested, we don’t release their information and you will not be charged a fee.

It's pay-per-contact. But the refreshing part is that it gives the jobseeker control over who gets to contact them. Not many job boards give this much protection. Employers who want resume access also have to be validated by the individual job boards (powered by Jobtarget) or by faxing in a request on company letterhead.

The first time I used it on my own job boards, employers balked at how hard it was to get through to a candidate. I even found it annoying because I began fielding calls complaining about it. But in a world of increasing identity theft, I've come to appreciate it much more as strong approach to protecting job seeker privacy.

It's time for all job boards to take note.

Labels: Job boards