Last updated on Oct 3, 2024

How do you handle confidential or sensitive information in resumes?

As a recruiter or hiring manager, you may encounter resumes that contain confidential or sensitive information, such as personal data, trade secrets, or protected disclosures. How do you handle such information in a professional and ethical way, while still screening candidates effectively? Here are some tips to help you manage this delicate situation.

Key takeaways from this article

Know your legal boundaries:

Familiarize yourself with laws like GDPR, PIPEDA, or HIPAA. This ensures you're compliant and protects both you and the candidate.### *Communicate clearly with candidates:Inform them of potential risks in sharing sensitive information. Suggest they provide a more generic version of their resume to safeguard their privacy.

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1 Understand your legal obligations

Depending on your location, industry, and organization, you may be subject to different laws and regulations regarding the collection, use, and disclosure of confidential or sensitive information. For example, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in the European Union, the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) in Canada, or the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) in the United States. You should familiarize yourself with the relevant rules and policies that apply to your role and context, and follow them accordingly. If you are unsure, consult your legal or compliance department for guidance.

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Elizabeth Sheppard

Attending college to attain a new career as a CCA
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Remember to empty the trash can (computer), shred any physical and delete even the sent emails when dealing with confidential client information.

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Veena Kumari

Senior Semicon Recruiter | NLP Practitioner I People Magnet | My approach combines recruiting insights, NLP techniques and life coaching.
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To handle confidential info in resumes: * Generalize: Don't give specifics about clients or projects. * Use broad terms: "Confidential client data" instead of names. * Highlight skills: Focus on discretion, security, and privacy. * Quantify (carefully): "Managed data for 100+ clients" is okay. * Show the "how": Explain your ethical and compliant approach. Showcase your skills and experience without revealing sensitive details.

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2 Respect the candidate's privacy

When you receive a resume that contains confidential or sensitive information, you should respect the candidate's privacy and intentions. Do not share, copy, or distribute the resume to anyone who does not need to see it for the screening process. Do not use the information for any other purpose than evaluating the candidate's suitability for the role. Do not disclose the information to any third parties without the candidate's consent. If you need to store or dispose of the resume, do so securely and in accordance with your organization's data retention policy.

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Eleanor Kadish
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ALWAYS KEEP EVERYTHING CONFIDENTIAL...... Never waiver or assume it's ok to discuss with anyone but the candidate who gave you the permission and trust to share with you.

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3 Communicate with the candidate

Sometimes, candidates may include confidential or sensitive information in their resumes unintentionally or out of ignorance. For example, they may reveal their current employer's trade secrets, their health status, or their political affiliations. In such cases, you may want to communicate with the candidate and inform them of the potential risks or implications of disclosing such information. You may also want to advise them to remove or redact the information from their resume, or to provide a more generic or anonymized version. However, you should do so tactfully and respectfully, without making the candidate feel judged or rejected.

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Belkis Tejeda

Career matchmaker while helping organizations grow with exceptional talent
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Our obligation extends not only throughout the screening process but also during offer negotiations and interviews. Consider the scenario where a product manager inadvertently shares proprietary information or when a candidate unintentionally reveals their current compensation to gauge potential offers or justify a higher salary. In these instances, we have an opportunity to educate them about the potential drawbacks of sharing confidential information. Encouraging them to provide examples that do not contain proprietary information or advising them to research compensation ranges for their desired role can help align their intentions of performing well in the interview or setting reasonable compensation expectations.

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4 Focus on the relevant skills and qualifications

When screening resumes, you should focus on the skills and qualifications that are relevant to the role and the organization, and ignore any information that is irrelevant, unnecessary, or inappropriate. For example, you should not base your screening decisions on the candidate's age, gender, race, religion, sexual orientation, or disability, unless they are bona fide occupational requirements. You should also not let the candidate's confidential or sensitive information influence your perception of their fit or potential. Instead, you should evaluate the candidate's resume objectively and fairly, based on the criteria and standards that you have established for the position.

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5 Seek feedback and support

Handling confidential or sensitive information in resumes can be challenging and stressful, especially if you encounter it frequently or in large volumes. You may feel overwhelmed, confused, or conflicted about how to deal with it. In such situations, you may benefit from seeking feedback and support from your colleagues, managers, mentors, or coaches. You can ask them for advice, best practices, or examples of how they handled similar scenarios. You can also share your concerns, frustrations, or doubts with them, and receive emotional support and encouragement. By doing so, you can improve your skills and confidence in screening resumes effectively and ethically.

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6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?

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Carol Bird

Oilfield Resumes That Bypass HR Bots & Generate Day-rates of $1500+/day | Text: 1 (306) 270-3511 | 25 Year Oil & Gas Resume Writer | Top 1% LinkedIn Voice in Resume Writing
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Common sense and the Golden Rule should about cover it. For example, don't make the mistake I made last week. A candidate was communicating with me via LI bright and early (around 4:30 am) when I received a text by someone with the same first name. Without thinking, I assumed it was the same individual... I called the individual the full name from what I had gathered on LI, wrong last name. Very coincidental, but big oops. Lesson learned.

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How do you handle confidential or sensitive information in resumes?

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1 Understand your legal obligations

2 Respect the candidate's privacy

3 Communicate with the candidate

4 Focus on the relevant skills and qualifications

5 Seek feedback and support

6 Here’s what else to consider

Screening Resumes

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