{"id":5257,"date":"2014-04-18T08:00:07","date_gmt":"2014-04-18T13:00:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/?p=5257"},"modified":"2014-04-18T02:15:47","modified_gmt":"2014-04-18T07:15:47","slug":"qraigs-quest-information-mismanagement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/?p=5257","title":{"rendered":"Qraig’s Quest – Information (Mis)Management"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Qraig De Groot
\npreviously published 12\/5\/12
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

Information (Mis)Management<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

\"qraigsquest\"<\/a>Please bear with me for a moment. I\u2019m writing this column mere moments after applying for a job online.\u00a0<\/strong> As has become the norm, I had to fill out a lengthy application with all the information that is already clearly highlighted on my r\u00e9sum\u00e9.\u00a0 But before I could submit anything, it was mandatory that I register for the site.\u00a0 Create a username and password just so I could apply to one job that struck my fancy.\u00a0 Why?\u00a0 Do they think I will be applying to an array of jobs with their organization?<\/p>\n

Being the good little job seeker, I filled out the form, checked the appropriate boxes, answered the mandatory questions, attached a copy of my r\u00e9sum\u00e9 and cover letter, participated in the EEO \u201cvoluntary\u201d self-identification form, created my username and finally hit \u201cSubmit.\u201d\u00a0 But instead of receiving the obligatory \u201cThank you for applying\u2026\u201d message, I was taken to another page which basically tried to bully me into doling out more facts about myself before the job application was fully submitted.\u00a0 And this wasn\u2019t just any information \u2013 it was personal data including my birthday, driver\u2019s license and social security number!<\/p>\n

Since the dawn of the internet, haven\u2019t we been warned not to share such information online?<\/strong>\u00a0 There\u2019s such a high risk of identity theft that anyone typing personal information into their computer is just asking for trouble.\u00a0 Yet, in late 2012 there are still a number of companies out there (this isn\u2019t the first time I ran into this scenario) demanding information that, if it fell into the wrong hands would cause a person tons of financial and emotional damage.<\/p>\n

Is a job that you probably won\u2019t even get to interview for anyway really worth it?\u00a0 I don\u2019t think so.\u00a0 If an online application asks for such information, I either navigate away and forget about the position or just input bogus data in the various fields.\u00a0 I don\u2019t care how enticing the job seems or how perfect it might be.\u00a0 If they want me to risk identity theft just to apply, they have another thing coming.<\/p>\n

Why am I so cautious?<\/strong>\u00a0 Well, my personal financial information was compromised a few years ago.\u00a0 Someone charged hundreds of dollars to one of my credit cards at an electronics store somewhere in western New York and then $700 more at a pharmacy. It was when they tried to buy over $500 worth of \u201cdrug paraphernalia\u201d online that the credit card company got suspicious and contacted me.\u00a0 But while I was on the phone, this criminal somehow got into one of my frequent flyer accounts and proceeded to buy an airline ticket and $1,000 worth of airline miles with another credit card of mine!<\/p>\n

I spent an entire month trying to sort everything out.\u00a0 Luckily, the person who stole my personal information was dumb enough to make it clear I wasn\u2019t the one buying hundreds of dollars of electronics, drug paraphernalia and medication then trying to book a flight from Las Vegas to Orange County, California in less than an hour.\u00a0 Things were straightened out in record time and my credit card accounts were adjusted and new cards were issued.\u00a0 And I immediately went online to make sure all my passwords were changed and no personal information was easily accessible.<\/p>\n

How did this thief gain access to my personal information?\u00a0<\/strong> I never found out, but you can imagine how wary the experience made me.\u00a0 Though it was all sorted out in the end, a bad taste was left in my mouth and I\u2019ve become wary about what information I share and who I share it with \u2013 both online and off.<\/p>\n

And, as I pointed out my earlier example this experience has increased the roadblocks in my job search.\u00a0 But, I\u2019m okay with that.\u00a0 I just don\u2019t see the need of anyone knowing my social security number unless they are about to hire me.<\/p>\n

This attitude has certainly led to me not being considered for jobs \u2013 especially at temporary and job placement agencies.\u00a0<\/strong> Many of them require you fill out all kinds of tax forms and supply copies of your social security card and driver\u2019s license before you even interview with one of their own recruiters.\u00a0 Without this information, the recruiters claim they can\u2019t start placing you in jobs.<\/p>\n

When I have inquired as to why they can\u2019t, no one has ever had a clear cut answer.\u00a0 Some said it was needed for when I started being paid.\u00a0 \u201cWell, when we get to that point,\u201d I retorted, \u201cyou can have that information.\u201d\u00a0 Other claimed it was just a mandatory step in their application process.\u00a0 \u201cThank you for your time,\u201d I replied, \u201cbut I won\u2019t give you that information until you place me in a position.\u201d\u00a0 And with that, I was most likely crossed off their list.<\/p>\n

There are a lot of things I will compromise in my search to secure that great job I\u2019d be perfect for.\u00a0 I will give up hours of time going through rounds of interviews.\u00a0 I will sacrifice money by transporting back and forth from businesses all over the area.\u00a0 I will even surrender a bit of dignity by performing tasks and temp jobs that might be deemed a bit below my skills and experience, just to get that position I ultimately deserve.<\/p>\n

But, I WILL NOT compromise my own personal identity. \u00a0<\/strong>Even if it\u2019s while filling out an application for what appears to be the best job in the world!\u00a0 If a company won\u2019t consider me without knowing my birthday and social security number, then I really don\u2019t want to be associated with them \u2013 no matter how great they might seem.<\/p>\n

And you can take that to the bank \u2013 but you\u2019re not withdrawing money from my<\/em> bank account for your electronics and plane tickets!\u00a0 Not if I can help it.<\/p>\n

-Qraig<\/p>\n

Qraig earned his MLIS from Rutgers University with a concentration in Digital Libraries. He is currently looking for a job. Ideally, he\u2019d love to be the first billionaire librarian, but at this point he\u2019d settle for anything where his skills and education can be utilized. Paid vacation time and health benefits wouldn\u2019t hurt either.<\/em><\/p>\n

Still a Jersey boy at heart (and will always be), Qraig currently resides in Manhattan where he spends much of his time watching ridiculously trite reality television, reading astonishingly atrocious autobiographies, writing preposterous prose and cleaning up after his two black cats. It\u2019s truly a life of which dreams are made. He may be contacted at qdegroot at rutgers.edu.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Qraig De Groot previously published 12\/5\/12 Information (Mis)Management Please bear with me for a moment. I\u2019m writing this column mere moments after applying for a job online.\u00a0 As has become the norm, I had to fill out a lengthy application with all the information that is already clearly highlighted on my r\u00e9sum\u00e9.\u00a0 But before…<\/p>\n

Read more \u2192<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4427,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[145],"tags":[69,3197,3198,3196],"class_list":["post-5257","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles","tag-article","tag-bank-misinformation","tag-information-management","tag-quaigs-quest"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/qraigsquest.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1WoMK-1mN","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5257","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5257"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5257\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4427"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5257"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5257"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5257"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}