Yet another article on how "MySpace and Facebook can override your resume” (as digg puts it):   For Some, Online Persona Undermines a Resume 

This article quotes my former manager, Warren Ashton, as saying Microsoft “recruiters are given broad latitude over how to work, and there is no formal policy about using the Internet to research applicants.”  The same is true for most other companies as well.

I predict within the next year we’ll see the first discrimination lawsuit related to recruiters' online research of applicants. (Not against MS ... just in general.)  Now, whether or not an applicant has a valid case against an employer is another question, but as the researching of public information on the internet becomes more and more common by recruiters (and the resulting information enters into hiring decisions), real guidelines may arise. 

A few weeks ago, I offered a few tips on how to find and combat your digital dirt.  Tod left a comment saying he had found another Tod Hilton (one “d”) who also worked in IT.  Hopefully, Tod's doppleganger is mild mannered, but it’s these types of identity confusions that I think will lead to more structured (or at least, transparent) internet discovery in the future. 

gretchen

P.S.  Congrats to Jen and Patrick (yeah, you probably don't know them) who just got engaged ... and to Scoble who just took a new job!

today's emotion:  lazy