Inc.com’s Job Applicants Fear Impact of Online Behavior offers this (my emphasis):

Job Hunting in the Digital Age, a poll of about 600 current employees conducted by Harris Interactive for Adecco USA, found that 66 percent of workers in Generation Y (ages 18 to 29) are oblivious to the online background checks employers do to research potential employees. In comparison, only 40 percent of baby boomers (ages 43 to 61) are unaware of such searches.

How can this be?  Gen Y is oblivious to online background checks?  Later in the article:

Therefore, more baby boomers make the effort to keep up with the latest hiring trends, as opposed to those in Generation Y just entering the workforce, according to Kenny.

Interesting, but I think we are actually observing a sea change in the work force.  Gen Y is composed of young people who take electronic networking to a new level.  Whether it be myspace.com or text messaging, they are focused on connecting with others on a personal level.

Gen Y’s approach is a bit disarming to us Xer’s and Boomers.  I think Gen Y actually values their online information and won’t remove it from the public.  They want to share that information with their friends to the point they value their network over a new career opportunity.

So the question becomes What do you do with this information?  Should it be left out of a hiring decision since it is personal?  Or should it be part of the background verification in regards to an offer?

I haven’t come to my own conclusion yet.

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It seems these articles about the worst commutes come out every month.  This month Forbes.com offers up The Most Unhealthy Commutes in America.  First, the top 5 (with 2 California cities – no surprise):

The Top 5 Most Unhealthy Commutes
1. Riverside, Calif.
2. Atlanta, GA
3. Los Angeles, CA
4. (tie) Houston, TX
4. (tie) Washington, D.C.

Then you get this interesting piece of data (emphasis mine):

Not only do commuters in Southern California inhale the worst year-round particle pollution levels, but Riverside drivers also face the highest rate of fatal auto accidents per capita, and Los Angeles drivers spend the most time sitting in traffic. In 2003, the annual delay per traveler there was 93 hours.

Yeah, that seems crazy to me sitting up here in Minneapolis where I thought we had bad commutes.  But here is an author explaining the SoCal mentality:

“It’s a lifestyle choice,” says David Rizzo, author of Survive the Drive! How to Beat Freeway Traffic in Southern California. “We put our health second. To have a big house, we’re willing to put up with smog and a big drive. We sacrifice our longevity for short-term gains.”

Is it any wonder that telecommuting is such a hot topic in hiring today?

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I’m a big fan of Dirty Jobs on the Discovery Channel and have the Tivo set to record it every week. If you haven’t seen it, essentially the host goes around each week and works with people who have a dirty job. Well, not just dirty, usually disgusting to the nth degree.

So I’m intrigued when I see this CareerJournal.com article – Putting the Spotlight
On the Grimiest Gigs. It’s a fun read and the host, Mike Rowe, is an interesting guy.

Read the article and you will find this great point (my emphasis):

Great point and I must confess I have used that platitude on many occasions.

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