28+ Critical Destinations for Recruiter Self Defense and Career Safety Tips

>> (NOTE! If you enjoy this post, please feel free to share with your friends and twitter it with the tinylink http://tinyurl.com/62x79m . Thanks, I appreciate it! Oh, and please feel free to comment below...I love reading what you have to say! -- Barbara)

Welcome! If you're new to my site, you may want to see all the goodies you get when you sign up for free to receive future insights. Thanks for visiting!

Morning!

And how is life treating you today?  Over here in RiseLand, things are doing quite well indeed; I got up at 3am or so, started off the day, progressed to my beloved 2.4 mile circle walk for exercise, totally based out my biceps/triceps/deltoids via massive weight lifting, and even enjoyed my morning coffee and shower….all before 8am!

Gotta love that time management.  But I digress. 

Today’s topic of the day (besides burning biceps which always benefit from Tiger Balm) deals with recruiter self defense.  Why, I hear you ask?

Several reasons, actually….the main one being that it’s the topic over at my other blogs as well:

• Entrepreneuring - 3 Easy Wordpress Security Self-defense steps (plugins, tips, techniques and more)
• Personal Development - Today’s Thought To Share - Self Defense

So I figured….let’s make it 3 for 3!

And let’s begin by

Step 1 - Proactive Reputation Management

One of the easist ways of integrating self-defense in your recruiting daily activities is to ALWAYS be aware of what’s being said about you online.  A simple way to do this is to create alerts via Google Alerts that will notify you whenever your name or company appears online.  But don’t just track your name - track your email address, your company, your nickname, your name without spaces and the like. 

You’d be surprised just where your posts and comments about you end up!

For more information, check out:

• 19+ Online reputation management super destinations and easy tips
• The Art of AVOIDING reputation manglement

Next, let’s move to:

Step 2 - Recruiter PC and Laptop Security / Self Defense

Your candidates for all bottom-line purposes are yours!  You always want to ensure your PC is protected not only by good passwords, but also via good ownership habits.  I remember back in the Dark Ages (1987) during one of my jobs at Radio Shack, an employee swiped the Boxhill drive from another employee and copied all the data from it to his own Tandy 1000.  (speaking of the Tandy 100, would you believe:

…The Tandy 100 was actually a computer made in Japan by Kyocera. All the ROM programs were written by Microsoft, and even a few of them were written by Bill Gates (!) himself ! These programs include a text editor, a telecommunication program, which uses the built-in modem (300 baud), and a rather good version of BASIC (no big surprise there)…..The CMOS CPU (80c85) allows to use the Tandy 100 for 20 hours with only 4 AA batteries (5 days at 4 hours/day or 20 days at 1 hour/day)!! The model 100/102 is still considered and used as an excellent machine, mainly to type texts when you’re on the move (you can transfer them to modern computers) and even to send and receive emails ! …Fun fact : its CPU was also used on the Mars Pathfinder probe’s Sojourner rover !…MORE…..

So!  That cute little UCB Flash thingee you carry around for ease of data transportation - don’t leave it unattended!

And what about email security if you’re on a network? 

Back when I was one of the lead AT&T Unix Security sysadmins, I was always astounded at how many users would leave their /var/spool/mail/username file with read permissions for all. 

Make certain YOUR email isn’t open to the world to see. 

Other resources for physically securing your PC/laptop include:

• How to Physically Secure Your Office Computers
• Preventing Laptop Theft
• How to secure your computer
• Motivation to physically secure your systems
• Lojack your Laptop
• Safeguarding Your Laptop

Next, let’s pounce upon:

Step 3 - Recruiter PDA or iPhone or Mobile Device etc. Security and Self Defense

Aren’t mobile smart phones the epitomy of lust?

Well, okay, true…..freshly brewed coffee really does beat those out as far as lust-evoking sensations go, but the point remains.  More and more professionals (and hence, more and more recruiters) are accessing the Internet via their mobile devices.  But what if one gets stolen or dipped into applesauce (courtesy of one’s children) or used as a chew toy (courtesy of one’s parakeets) etc.?

Glad you asked!   Investigate:

• Twitter iPhone LoJack
• Tips to Safeguard Your Smart Phone
• Cell Phone Spying: Is Your Life Being Monitored?
• How to Protect a Mobile Phone from Being Stolen
• Protect Your Phone Against Identity Theft

Wow, we’re rockin’ now!  Let’s smoothly segue into:

Step 4 - Recruiter Workplace Bullying Prevention

A topic that’s near and dear to my heart, there might be a "slight" chance ("slight" like a tornado produces a "slight" breeze) that workplace bullies exist in your company.  I’ll probably dedicate a full article to that at a later date, but in the meanwhile, if you’re affected by such a slimy blight, check out:

• UK Workplace Bullying Articles
• Workplace Bullying Start Here
• Bullying in the Workplace
• Workplace Bullying ‘Epidemic’ Worse Than Sexual Harassment
• Bullies Among Us At Work(great blog!!)

What are some other useful recruiter self-defense tips?  How about:

Step 5 - Dealing with eMail Threats or Cyber Stalking

It could be that a candidate or client becomes rather, ahem, irate with you…and decides to start threatening you online or stalking your every move.  In this case, the following resources might be useful:

• How to stop stalkers
• Cyberstalking and Harrassment
• State Computer Harassment or "Cyberstalking" Laws
• CyberCriminals Most Wanted
• Spies Online

And finally, no recruiter self-defense and safety article would be complete without:

Step 6 - Recruiter Personal Safety

As a recruiter, you’ll probably travel onsite to client companies and otherwise be out in the real world.  Parking lots, dimly-lit areas at night, etc., are can be potential trouble spots for your personal safety.  Here are some helpful resources for dealing with that:

• Parking Lot Safety
• Personal Safety on the Streets
• Serious Safety Tips for Women
• Hotel Safety Tips
• No Nonsense Self Defense (super resource!!)

Remember, it’s the smart person who proactively takes action to minimize the possibilities of extreme unhappiness both online and off.  The ball is in your court - see that you play a game of which you can be proud.

Enjoy,

Barbara Ling

ps - speaking about self-defense, have you seen:

NEW COMPUTER NOTEBOOK LAPTOP LOCK SECURITY CABLE CHAIN

Laptop PC Computer Security Chain Cable W Password Lock

Lot of 10 PC Computer Security Lock Chain Cable 2 Keys

Computer Security Sourcebook: Basic Information for Gen

Lot of 30 PC Computer Security Lock Chain Cable 2 Keys

Computer Security and Viruses DVD, Excellent DVD, ,

Popularity: 39% [?]

Like this post? Please feel free to tell your friends to Stumble It

Stumble it!

and Digg It - I very much appreciate your time!

For more insightful free recruiting goodness, subscribe to RISE Recruiter Blog Tips today.

Spread the Word!