Career assessment on the internet availability has led to many benefits that are important to the general public and career service practitioners. On this, Zunker has made the practice easy by developing models that allow students to complete assessments at their time and convenience with an array of computerized tools customized by the instructors. Osborne & Zunker have further boosted the field by developing assessments that increase individual self-awareness helping them make sound career decisions. The researchers hope that test developers and those who make the policy more aware of the issues involved after developing the system and maximize the potential benefits and make the potential problems very minimum. Even with these advancements towards computerized assessments, there are many potential risks associated with the use of internet-based resources and services.
An excellent example of a career site is LinkedIn; this is a site that people upload their career information to attract potential employers and build networks. With these, the site is growing in popularity. However, the risks associated with such career sites are enormous as malicious individuals can hack the site if the systems lack advanced security controls. Another risk associated with online career sites is that it is challenging to guarantee candidate privacy as their profiles should appear public for their chances to get selected by potential employers. Most of the candidate information is displayed publicly with confidential information such as emails, contacts, and physical addresses seen to all, which can pose a risk of identity theft to the candidates as criminals can join the site pretending to be potential employers.
As a result, the site has implemented ways that candidates can safeguard their profiles, such as encouraging users to use secure browsers as their browsing history would not be accessible to hackers in the event of a security breach. Furthermore, the site has implemented strict privacy policies with advanced security to reduce the risks of phishing resulting from deceiving links that may look like job offers to candidates. For one to access their information, they are always required to log in using their usernames and passwords. The site urges users to periodically change their account passwords to protect their information.
References
- Osborne, D. S., & Zunker, V. G. (2016). Using Assessment Results for Career Development, 9th Ed. Boston: Cengage Learning. ISBN-10: 1-305-39777-0 ISBN-13: 978-1-305-39777-4
- Zunker, V.G. (2016). Career Counseling: A Holistic Approach, 9th Ed., Boston, MA: Cengage Learning. ISBN-10: 1305087283 | ISBN-13: 9781305087286
