Guessing is not a strategy: How to build decision velocity with AI and real-time data
June 10, 2026 | Live Webinar
I have written articles and blog posts connected with workforce implications of Web 2.0, essentially explaining how to use social networking to your advantage as a project manager. I think I left out some of the pitfalls, perhaps in a subconscious strategy to enjoy reading about all the problems later. Whatever the reason, use of social networking has some history now and we can learn from others’ mistakes.
And I’m not even talking about the stupid students who put on their web sites that they just got out of rehab, then look for a job. I’m sure each one thinks he can bring excellent judgment to his future workplace.
I’m talking about how now we see egg on employers’ faces. This article explains that more and more businesses are searching sites like MySpace and FaceBook to get background on candidates. Suppose you did the same, and you see someone who says she has just got out of rehab. You’d make a nice note like “gap in history” and move her resume to the bottom of the pile, right? And what if you saw someone who took joy in explaining how he professed his religious beliefs to everyone he spoke to? You make a note on that resume, maybe “very spiritual”.
Now we know that this can run you into trouble with the law. Candidates who are concerned that they are not getting hired can go to an attorney, who can look at their web site or blog, or elsewhere on the Internet. If the attorney finds evidence of personal information that may have been used for hiring discrimination, then she hits the jackpot. Your records are subpoenaed and she has your own notes to hang you with!
Unlikely? Then you missed the news story earlier this year about the Yale student who alleges hiring discrimination based on “photos and unfavorable information” posted about her on the web. HR attorneys everywhere must have heard a loud ka-ching!
Posted on: November 19, 2007 09:40 PM |
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