Many people leave messages on their e-mail letting
people know when they’ll be away from their offices.
This is really helpful for colleagues, but exercise cau-
tion and limit who you provide the information to.
Leaving a message that says, “Gone 11/2-11/12. I’m
taking the family to Hawaii for ten days,” may make
you a prime target for burglary. And you’ll probably
never make the connection between the information
you exposed and the offline crime.You may need to show your work history, particularly
on resumes you post on Internet job or business net-
working sites. Be selective about where you post this
information, create a separate e-mail account to list on
the resume, and tell what kinds of work you’ve done
rather than give specifics about which companies and
what dates. Interested, legitimate employers can then
contact you privately, and you won’t have given away
your life history to the world. After you’ve landed
the job, take down your resume. Think of it as risk
management — when you need a job, the risk of infor-
mation exposure is less than the need to get the job.Consider the Cumulative Effect
Every detail you or others share online about your life and the extended
group of people you interact with is stored somewhere. That information
may be copied, posted in other locations, and perhaps stay online for a
very, very long time. Understanding the way this information accumu-
lates, and how permanent that information may be, is critical.Over the years, you may have built quite a profile of yourself through
items you and others have posted about you online, including the
following:➟ Resumes
➟ Blogs you’ve written
143Chapter 7: Sharing Your Information with Others