Publicized in recent reports, the personal information of more than 1.3 million professionals was stolen by criminals who used false employer credentials to access the popular job Web site Monster.com. Nonetheless, the hijacking of these records brought to light the need for greater security on the part of both the job seeker and the job Web site. Though the larger job search sites are the most visible, they are also most likely to become targets of hackers or scammers, much in the same way that security holes are more likely to be exploited in Internet Explorer instead of Firefox or Opera - the biggest names bring the most attention.

    In a press release, Monster said they were not hacked, instead maintaining that malicious software was used to gather what appeared to be legitimate access; that access was then used to steal personal information. Patrick W. Manzo, vice president of compliance and fraud prevention at Monster, added that this was not necessarily a case of identity theft, as the information stolen was "not different than that displayed in a phone book."

    One way to combat the theft of personal information is to search out niche job sites. MedZilla.com serves the biotechnology, pharmaceutical, medical, science, and healthcare fields. One MedZilla user, who wished to remain anonymous, praised the site's attention to security and detail.

    After posting her resume to two mass-market job boards, she found she was receiving more unsolicited messages than anything else, but on MedZilla - which she chose because she works in pharmaceutical sales - she found a much better user experience. By providing opportunities targeting users' field of expertise, sites like MedZilla are able to better serve job seekers while also focusing on protecting their personal information.

    "Our client application process involves screening the prospective clients to ensure they have real jobs to fill," said Michele Groutage, MedZilla's director of marketing. "For added security, we also generate client passwords to eliminate the risk of them using the same password for all job boards."

    "We were among the first to automatically assign every user an anonymous e-mail address," said Dr. Frank Heasley, president and CEO of MedZilla. Heasley also said MedZilla has a strict policy in place to prevent misuse of the employer and potential-employee data they collect, sometimes going so far as to take legal action against those who abuse the information they gather from the site.

    With fewer unrelated jobs to search through and stronger, more robust security and privacy policies, candidates are more likely to find what they're looking for without first having to weed through dozens of unrelated job postings. Though it may take a little research to find the appropriate niche Web site, when the niche Web site pays as much attention to detail as sites like MedZilla, it's worth the time to take a look.

Job seekers should keep the following in mind when considering submitting a resume to a job search site:
    - Do they spell out their policies clearly, and make them easy to find?
    - How will the site protect personal information?
    - Does the site share personal information with third parties?
    - Are recruiters and employers screened?
    - Can resumes be targeted to specific jobs and job types, or is it "submit it and forget it?"
    - Does the site screen out false postings?
    - Is it easy to remove personal information from the site?