Do You Have Digital Dirt?

A recent CareerJournal article titled "How to Clean Up Your Digital Dirt Before It Trashes Your Job Search," talks about how your on-line "data trail" can harm your job search and potentially your career.

That article states that "according to a 2005 survey of 102 executive recruiters by ExecuNet, an executive job-search and networking organization, 75% of recruiters use search engines to uncover information about candidates, and 26% of recruiters have eliminated candidates because of information found online."

Examples of things that might get you in trouble: Facebook, MySpace or similar profiles with unflattering or unprofessional pictures or information; public records of undisclosed indiscretions, offenses, or lawsuits you've been involved in; an "inappropriate" blog (sexual, inflammatory content or writing about a previous employer); unflattering articles written about you; certain postings to bulletin boards associated with your name; etc.

The article gives some good hints about checking up on your own digital dirt. For more information, click here.

Employment Heats Up in Silicon Valley

According to an article on the front page of last weekend's issue of the Wall Street Journal titled "Boomtown Redux: Job Market Heats Up in Silicon Valley," "after suffering an exodus during the dot-com bust, the region is once again a land of opportunity," with state economists expecting a net inflow into the area this year, following 5 years of job losses (185,000 in total).

Most of the new jobs are not coming from the high tech giants, such as Cisco, Sun, and Intel, but rather from thousands of small and midsize companies and startups, who are typically looking for experienced professionals who are well-versed in hot technologies and who can create and market innovative products. Basic programming and assembly-line jobs are few and far between, having been offshored years ago.

The hottest markets for jobs seem to be in highly-skilled engineering and marketing. Companies mentioned in the article as presently recruiting included Dice.com, Linear Technology Corp., Sling Media (a startup that recently closed a $46.4 million round of venture capital funding), and Good Technology, Inc.

Directory of Executive Recruiters Now Available Online!

I just discovered today that the thick, unwieldy tome which is "The Directory of Executive Recruiters" is now available on line - a fact which I find makes it much easier to use!

To access it, you need to pay $49.50 for a 6-month subscription.

For more information, visit http://www.recruiterredbook.com/.