by Jeffrey Barrett*
Lately, I have been reading resumes, doing phone screens, and running interviews in order to hire some key IT staff here at BurrellesLuce. For potential candidates, guess what, I use systems like Google, LinkedIn, and Twitter to vet resumes. The stories are modified enough to protect the implicated, but they still tell the tale of how an “Internet resume” acts as a way to double check some simple facts.

Rather easily, I discovered the real reason why potential candidates left their last job, how they really learned their skills, and the true interests they have outside of work. Where did I start the search? Simple: by plugging their email address in Google or, if it was really easy, a site that they provided examples and details of on their physical resumes.

Example One
If I ask: Why did you leave your last company last month?

And you reply: I actually left two weeks ago because I was never able to take a vacation.

But your Twitter account says: “3 months ago.” And that you were “Off for the 2nd vacation this year!!! So totally enjoying my vacation, never even had to check email!!”

Then a link directing from your Twitter post to your Flickr account states: “You like to drink a bit much and in front of the camera!”

I think: “No hire.”

Example Two:
If I ask: So how did you learn how to setup a “flux capacitor”?

And you brag: Oh Doc Emmett Brown showed me that personally a couple years back.

But the flux capacitor help forum shows: You ask for help with your “flax capacitance.” Two people take pity and provide some advice and also tell you to “read the flux capacitor manual” and call you a “noob.” You then start calling them “terrorists.”

I think: No hire.

Example Three:
If I ask: So what do you do to relax?

And you respond: I enjoy photography.

I notice on your Flickr account:  Some very nice working with shadows on your most recent photo.

I then think: My one coworker is also getting into photography lately and this could be a potential hire.

The examples go on and on, but you get the idea. One’s online resume can hurt. At the same time if it’s crafted as carefully as the resume sent in, it could do a lot of good. The pain is that an online resume is simply online actions that I can assemble via simple search tools to uncover the truth behind an applicant’s information, as well as assess their character.

So how much care should they take in their online presence? That is up to them and who they think they will be working for. Personally, I care who works with me and I care that they will be successful at BurrellesLuce. I am motivated to find out as much about a candidate as early on as I can, since I will spend dozens of hours reviewing their resume, calling them, interviewing them and then investing at least 90 days of salary to see if things will work.

How are you using social media to evaluate potential employees?

*Jeff Barrett is the chief web-architect of BurrellesLuce 2.0, the portal used by thousands of PR professionals to monitor, plan, and measure online and print news.