Wednesday, June 21, 2006

Blogs as Non-Hiring Tools


I saw a news story that more and more potential employers are reading people's blogs before they hire them. They're generally talking about 20 somethings who write blogs about their drug use and other illegal activities, sometimes sprinkling in some info on the orgy they went to last night and other choice tidbits.

The story said about 20% of potential employers now are checking out blogs and using that information in hiring practices. I must say that I know far more about people's personal lives than I ever wanted to by reading random blogs. I don't write about my private life here because it's - well - what's the word - oh yeah, private. I save those things for the pen and paper journals.

Obviously, what you put on the WORLD WIDE Web is out there for publication. And I don't think it's such a bad idea for people to check out blogs to get a sense of who someone is. It should give you a sense of if that person will blend into your workplace or not. But, by the same token, people do have a right to have a life beyond their work.

Workplaces are just renting your mind for X number of hours a week. That does not give them the right to control your entire existence. However, if you're engaging in a lot of drug use or other illegal activity, or hosting a lot of orgies, it might be best to not write about it on the WORLD WIDE web - at least not under your own name. Just a thought. But, as always, your mileage may vary.