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There are a huge number of resumes online — the biggest job-bank on the Internet reports holding 7,00,000 — and the amount of private and personal data in cyberspace is immense. "Some online agencies allow other agencies to search their candidate databases, for a fee," says Smith. "If they openly say this, I suppose it’s ethical. But candidates don’t read an agency’s conditions, so they are effectively giving permission for their CV to be distributed. I wonder if persons know how much their data is open to the world." For the candidate, though, what is the problem in being exposed to more employers? "There is no control over where your data goes," insists Smith. "The very least damage that can be done is that your boss or human resources department recognises you and sees that you’re looking, so when a promotion comes up, you’re listed as disloyal.’’ It really is true; say all agencies that resume unexpectedly get back to current employers. Even without a name, it is astonishing how many persons can be recognised from a resume. Smith says that 80 per cent of his clients think they could be recognised. "Apart from a lot of personal data that you don’t want spread around, I don’t like the thought that there are millions of disappointed candidates putting their CVs up on Web sites and never getting a job — and yet their data becomes a number on the Internet, touted around to make money." In a healthy job market in which well-qualified personal assistants are in demand, why should data be on sale? Why should agencies sell what would seem to be their most prized product? "Is a PA database valuable? You bet," says Rosalind Renshaw, who publishes recruiters’ newsletter, Interviewer. "It’s part of the so-called war for talent. Good candidates have become a saleable, marketable commodity. It might seem crazy for an agency to sell its core asset, but it has certainly been known for a business in trouble to try to raise money by selling its database." Whatever the reason, Smith has been offered candidate databases at five pence a head, and Ian Wolter at Eden Brown reports having been offered databases two or three times, but having turned down the offers as "shady". Paul Barrett at Tempz.com points out that the value of a top PA’s resume is readily understandable when related to the commission a head-hunter would be paid to find her. Among other agencies in the UK, the most typical experience is that of Tate Appointments, which reports online agencies offering access to their databases in return for a search fee, or that of Secretaries Plus, which pays to access a well-known and reputable database, and transfers data on individual cases with a co-operative group of agencies — but only after asking candidates if they wish to be put forward for a specific job held by another agency. The unauthorised removal of employment data from Web sites is called "scraping", says Don McIntosh, chairman of the new association of online recruiters, the first group to bring agreed standards to Web recruitment. And, he warns, scraping is not done only by small agencies — large names have also been guilty of it. Whatever the reasons for a trade in data, how can the job hunter guard against the transfer of their personal details? "Giving your life story to a complete stranger so that they can find you a job is something that demands trust, and looking for a job is enough of an emotional experience without worrying about this," says Tricia Phillips, London regional manager at Adecco. "The question is, where does it stop? Is it now OK to share CVs with an insurance company so they can go round and sell something to the candidate? So, if you’re registering online, be crystal-clear what you’re agreeing to." "To randomly post your CV is to allow anyone to use it," warns Jane Littlefield at Joslin Rowe. "If you don’t want your personal details bandied around the world, don’t put them online." — By arrangement
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