You already learned quite a bit about resume banks in Chapter 6, but the option is worth reiterating in the discussion of looking for a job online. Many of the job-search Web sites mentioned in the last section let you upload your resume or create one online. Your resume then gets put into a database that employers may search when looking for job candidates. Some of these services allow you to keep your resume private, or at least invisible to employers you specify. Why would you choose to do this? Let's take this likely scenario: you are looking for a new job without your current employer's knowledge. You upload your resume to one of these services. Your boss has to fill a job opening and decides to look for candidates on the same site to which you just uploaded your resume. Now, wouldn't that make for an awkward situation?

All of that said, posting your resume to a resume bank or other job-search site can be a big help to you as a job seeker. Someone may contact you from out of the blue to see if you are interested in a particular opportunity. These opportunities may not always be exactly what you're looking for, but this is still a good way to become more educated about your options and to reach a broader “audience.” You never know; an option you might never even have considered may turn out to be the perfect choice for you.