Employers finding 'digital dirt'

This isn't about our kids, but our kids will grow up and become job seekers, and this issue isn't going away. In its recent survey of 100 executive recruiters, ExecuNet found that 35% of them had dropped a job candidate "because of information uncovered online," a San Jose Mercury News blog reports. Not much different from similar recent reports (see "Teen reputations, jobs at risk" and "Protecting teen reputations on Web 2.0"). The ExecuNet press release - "Growing Number Of Job Searches Disrupted By Digital Dirt" - offers some advice that isn't just for "suits". And of course, all this works both ways. Employees and prospectives are digging up "digital dirt" too. Social networks "are launching features that make it easier for job seekers to connect with the employees of prospective hirers," according to a Wall Street Journal piece picked up by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.