The premise of this report and the analysis of site practices and issues in this report is based upon the canon of Fair Information Practices, particularly as expressed in the eight principles of Fair Information Practices outlined in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) 1980 Guidelines. [5] These guidelines form the basis of most modern international privacy agreements and national laws. The principles were agreed upon by member countries, including the United States. These principles and guidelines are referred to throughout the report either as the principles of Fair Information Practices, or as the OECD guidelines.

The following issues are highly relevant to job applicant privacy as found in the research conducted for this study.

Roadmap: 2003 Job Search Privacy Study – Job Searching in the Networked Environment: Consumer Privacy Benchmarks: V. Privacy Issues at Specific Job Sites
In the course of research some online sites or businesses raised new or important privacy questions. Each site is discussed in more detail below..

Employment kiosks – small, mobile ATM-like booths – are increasingly being used for screening job applicants. The booths are typically located in malls and at the front sections of retail stores. The booths allow job candidates to pull up a chair, answer a series of detailed questions, and apply for work in about an hour. No muss, no fuss, and no resumes are needed to apply.

Resume writing services exist to help jobseekers create a portrait of their skills and work experience that is compelling enough to land the job seekers interviews for desirable positions. These types of businesses tend to be small one to 35- person operations. Data privacy has arrived in this corner of the job search universe; resumes containing rich data such as work history, name, address, phone number, e-mail address, and educational history are prime treasures in the data business. [44]