In June 2024, Glassdoor began requiring real names on user profiles -- without adequately notifying users who had posted anonymous reviews under the expectation of anonymity. Users discovered that their names were attached to profiles containing critical reviews of their employers. A user who anonymously reviewed their employer as having "toxic management" or "discriminatory practices" found their real name now visible on the same profile. The real-name policy was implemented to increase "trust and transparency" -- but transparency for employers means exposure for employees. Reviews posted under anonymity contain workplace complaints, salary disclosures, and descriptions of hostile work environments that could lead to retaliation if attributed to specific employees. Glassdoor retroactively changed the terms under which reviews were posted, exposing users who contributed under a promise of anonymity.

LinkedIn scraped and sold user data for ad targeting despite claiming data was used for career development. In 2024, Ireland's Data Protection Commission fined LinkedIn €310 million for GDPR violations related to targeted advertising — finding LinkedIn processed user data without valid legal basis for behavioural analysis and ad targeting. Additionally, LinkedIn began training AI models on user content in 2024, only disclosing the opt-out after media coverage.

Indeed collects the most comprehensive career profile available: full resume (work history, education, skills, certifications), salary expectations, job search patterns, application history, interview scheduling, and cognitive assessment results (through Indeed Assessments). This data reveals career trajectory, income level, employment gaps, reasons for leaving past jobs, and professional vulnerabilities. Job search patterns are especially revealing: searching during work hours suggests urgency, searching in a different city reveals relocation plans your employer doesn't know about, and salary filter changes reveal your financial situation. Indeed sells access to this candidate data to employers and recruiters. Your resume -- the document that represents your professional identity -- is the product Indeed sells. Three hundred fifty million people monthly submit their professional lives to a platform owned by Recruit Holdings, a Japanese conglomerate with $70+ billion market cap, that monetises their career data.

Seek's dominance of the Australian job market means job seekers have no meaningful alternative. With ~70% market share, not being on Seek means not seeing most job listings. This captive audience must provide: full resumes (work history, education, skills, referees), salary expectations, and search behaviour. Seek sells access to this candidate data to employers and recruiters. Your resume -- detailing your professional history, qualifications, and desired salary -- is Seek's product. Job search patterns are especially revealing: searching during work hours signals urgency, searching in another city signals planned relocation, and frequency changes signal desperation. At 70% market share, Seek operates as a near-monopoly for Australian employment. The company that connects you with jobs profits from your continued searching. Like Indeed globally, Seek's revenue depends on people not finding jobs too quickly.