How to treat your resumé like a Bastion Host
First of all, what on Earth is a Bastion Host anyways?
Well, when we talk about this in terms of your resumé, we’re talking about three major points:
- Contact information (incl. references)
- Tools and Technologies
- What you did and what you did it with
Lets begin
1. Only give them what they need to see
- Take your contact information out of your LinkedIn resume
- Also take your REFERENCES’ contact information out of your resume
Why?
This will protect your references, and yourself from more than just spam.
2. Careful with the specifics
If your resumé is loaded with descriptions of exact model numbers, RTM versions (Server 2003, anyone?), or precise definitions of exactly what technology is being used at a company, then you are putting that company at risk.
- Remove the tools and technologies from your descriptions
- Strip out the identifying version numbers
- Put everything like that into a generalized ‘skills’ area
- Talk about WHAT you did in a very generalized way
- Do not describe what you did it WITH!!!
Why?
This will protect your current employer.
What about LinkedIn? They literally tell us to use this stuff as keywords…
- Recruiters are going to look for keywords in your “About” section
- Use the combined “tools and tech” area for this purpose
Are we done?
This will be the first step to protect your current employer. We’re not done yet, but this lays the groundwork for the next steps.
3. Take it and run with it
- Take what you’ve done and apply it to all of your previous employment(s)
- Combine all tools and tech into a single area, strip all versions, etc
- If the tool or tech is no longer relevant, leave it out
Why?
This will protect your previous employers.
Final Word
Hackers are taught to use any means necessary to gain a foothold into an organization. They usually start with open-source intelligence. One of the most effective means is social media. The more information a hacker can glean about a target, the easier it becomes for them to gain a foothold into the organization.
So be less of a target and more like a bastion host.