What is your Confidential Profiles database?

The greatest thing since sliced bread? Maybe not, but it is a terrific way for you to make yourself known to potential employers. You create a Confidential Profile using a simple form that outlines your professional experience and education (but no personal contact information) and enter it in a searchable database. Employers can search the database for likely matches to their open positions. Even if you’re not on the job market, a Confidential Profile in the searchable database could turn up opportunities for part-time teaching, online teaching, even contract research work. When a potential employer finds a match, an anonymous link allows them to compose an e-mail to you, delivered by Inside Higher Ed. If you like what you see, you contact the employer. Your confidentiality is maintained until you choose to make yourself known. Consider it a treasure hunt in reverse — and you’re the treasure. Go to your dashboard to create a confidential profile now.

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How do I add myself to the Confidential Profiles database?

The first step is to register. Once you’ve registered, you’ll find the Confidential Profile form on the Manage Profiles tab on your dashboard. You can access, edit, or activate/deactivate your Profile at any time through the Manage Profiles tab on your dashboard.

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What sort of information should I include in my Profile?

The form asks for four kinds of information:

- Contact information that is NOT included in the searchable database, but that allows us to connect you with employers anonymously and to link your Profile to your Online Portfolio if you’re maintaining one.

- Criteria for jobs you’d consider — for example, you can indicate whether you’d be interested in full time work only, or would consider part-time or contract jobs.

- Information about your professional experience and education. This can be as specific as you like. You’ll want to strike a balance between providing so much information that your identity can be guessed vs. providing so little information that potential employers can’t tell whether you’re a good prospect. Here’re sample entries for the work experience and short bio sections:

Work Experience: Three years’ teaching experience on the college level, including graduate seminar in Latin American Literature. Extensive experience teaching first-generation college students, including ESL and writing courses. Developed online instructional program to teach ESL classes for migrant workers — classes conducted asynchronously and coordinated with local book mobile program. Published 3 articles on English language acquisition among elementary school children of migrant workers.

Short Bio: My parents are first generation Americans and I am the first member of my family to attend college. My love for Latin American literature led me first to a liberal arts degree and I hoped to teach comparative literature. In graduate school my focus changed when I became involved with an organization working with migrant farm workers. I became fascinated by the polyglot culture of the children of these workers. I ended up completing a degree in Teaching English as a Second Language and spent two growing seasons teaching an online course in ESL for migrant workers and their kids.

- Information about your employment eligibility status and demographic data.

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Why do you request demographic information?

As you’re probably aware, diversity is a real concern for people filling positions in higher education. Inside Higher Ed is committed to reaching as broad an audience as possible within the higher ed community. We’re working tirelessly to ensure that diverse voices are part of our conversation, and that academics and administrators of all backgrounds and viewpoints are reading us, commenting on our stories, and using our job services. So when employers ask us just how diverse our audience really is, we want to be able to tell them. So we ask. You don’t have to tell us.

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How is demographic information used?

Demographic information is never associated with an individual job application. We will report on the demographic makeup of a group of applicants for a given position, but only in the aggregate, and only if we have a minimum of 10 applicants for the position. We also report on the demographic composition of our audience as a whole.

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How do employers use the Confidential Profiles database?

Employers search the Confidential Profiles much the same way you search the job listings — we use the same categories to tag entries in the Confidential Profiles database as we do to tag the job listings. We don’t charge for searches — employers can see the complete Profiles. We charge a modest fee for putting the employer in touch with you (it’s like online dating — not that we’d know about such things).

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How do employers get in touch with me if my contact information is confidential?

If an employer wishes to contact a Profile holder, a link labeled “contact this candidate” opens an e-mail window. The employer writes an e-mail message to you, and we forward it, maintaining your confidentiality.

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Do I have to pay to be part of your Confidential Profiles database?

Nope.

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