It can be intimidating to sit down to write your resume for the first time.  How many pages is appropriate? How should I open my objective statement?  What other information do I need to include?  Should I lock down my social networks to ensure that employers don’t learn about every happy hour that I attended last month?  The list goes on.   But who is really watching and how safe is the information that you include in your professional resume?  Here are a few things to consider before you post:

Address

Protect your information.  Tradition puts home address on the top of your resume, however more employers are urging job seekers not to include this information to avoid liability.  You may also be protecting yourself from a crazy person showing up on your front door or even from intentional or unintentional discrimination or adverse hiring actions based on the part of the city that you come from.

E-Mail Address

Keep your e-mail address professional, perhaps use your full name or a variation of your name.  Try to avoid an e-mail address that contains too many numbers or special characters such as hash tags, underscores and periods.  It is also recommended to use an e-mail address that it not associated with a social network that you subscribe to so that you avoid prying eyes peeking into your personal life.

Social Security Number / Tax ID Number

Often times, an employer will ask that your resume be accompanied by their application for employment.  You do not need to provide your social security number unless you are extended an offer.

Voicemail

One would think that this is a no-brainer, however more times than not we call out to candidates that have unprofessional voice mails, music and inappropriate language as their recording.  During your job search, keep your voice mail short and simple, use a professional tone and include a thank you for calling, a note that you are not available at the time, and that you will return the call promptly.

Facebook, Instagram and other Social Networks

During your job search, check the privacy settings of your social networks to ensure that only trusted friends and family members can access your profile.  Employers typically may not make adverse hiring decisions based on what they find on your social network but we suspect unfortunately that it happens every day.

Photograph

Because we have readers coming from abroad, it is important to mention that it is not necessary to publish your photo on your resume.  This is a common practice in Europe and South America but not in North America.  Think about the information that you are giving away, and who will have access to that information.  With a photo, address and social, anyone could open up any number of credit cards or even take out of a mortgage in your name.