Click here to read an interesting article by HR Morning on the city of Bozeman’s (Montana) hiring practice – where they do exactly what I just mentioned.

Frankly, I’m not surprised at all by the “outcry” from the HR community regarding Bozeman’s hiring method.

I’m a realist.  When recruiting, of course I Google names and check free web resources – including social networking web sites.  But what I find with Facebook and My Space is that those pages are often private at the request of the member (which is exactly what I think they should be and should remain).

If you’re looking for a job, change your status on those sites to private so I can’t see it.  I really started preaching this to the graduating college seniors who attended my seminars last year.  Yet, this advice is also applicable to most job seekers out there.

I would never give my consent or provide my username and login.  It should be interesting to see where this issue goes from here.