For years now, whenever I’m on a job hunt, I refuse to give out my exact address. It was determined passe on resumes in the early 2000s, so why do organizations expect onboarding information ahead of the first interview? Let’s get into the realistic reasons first.
The reasons companies require an address line may be due to in-person work requirements, tax opportunities, housing discrimination, and job reliability when it comes to a regular commute.
A 20-min distance candidate may be preferred over an equally qualified 48-min away candidate.
Teleconferences and virtual documentation has proven remote working actually benefits more people than those who miss standing up to sharpen their pencil and show off their new light-up shoes.
Now, the lived experience and accompanying theoretical reasons an organization needs your address before they hire you is for internal statistics. Where are the majority of applicants applying from? What are their backgrounds? Do we need to hire a Bachelor’s holding candidate? Does this candidate’s portfolio and a pay cut match up with our competitors’ teams?
Fake job postings and phishing attempts have drastically increased in job boards due to the facilitation of AI
If it looks too good to be true, it probably is. This has been the case for years now. The odds of landing a magical, “confidential”, nicely paying unnamed government job are minute compared to the odds that your resume and cover letter are going straight into a script and AI generator for future misuse of your personal data or qualifications.
We don’t know where our information will end up.
In a world where branding yourself is the “it” strategy, are we preparing properly for the prosperous protection of our identities and likeness? Our grandparents didn’t have to worry about this; they didn’t know they would need to.
Asking for a city and state is okay. Zip code? Fine. But think twice about where your resume and job board profile information may end up.
Do I know the direct correlation between my lack of interview prospects and job application deficiency(ies)? No.
