Hot In The City, Hot In The City Tonight

A little Billy Idol for your Tuesday as temperatures push the triple digits...

Preparing you for the Astronology release (blogging about blogging...quite unique)...

An audio link (podcast for those of you who are tech savvy)! Resume Lies and the Liars Who Write Them With the Radio Shack CEO in the news for lying on his resume, Susie and Barb think the time is right to address this baffling topic. Why don’t companies do background checks? The office grapevine has no problem discovering the indiscretions of a new hire, so what is wrong with Human Resources making a few phone calls? Many famous examples are discussed, with FEMA’s Michael Brown at the top of the list:

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And from the Colorado Springs Business Journal (Colorado Springs, CO) from July 14, 2006, this article below from Joan Johnson:

Social technology, blogging, is a networking tool that can provide job seekers with a powerful option in their hunt for employment, but if misused, sites such as MySpace.com and Facebook can ruin a career. Employers can search blogs during background checks and human resources departments can use the information they find as they please -- identifying biases or any other reason not to hire a potential applicant. "I have MySpace, but it is all business," said Julie Kistler, owner of UrbanEmbers.com and Six Sigma Marketing. "I don't put anything personal on it.

" Used appropriately though, networking on the Net can be invaluable. Networking often yields better results during job searches than online job banks. According to a study by CareerXroads, 27 percent of external hires were found through employee referrals. Second on the list, at 24.7 percent, was the Internet, which in the survey referred to the use of online job boards and corporate Web sites. "Seventy to 80 percent of jobs are not posted," Kistler said. She said people are constantly being referred to her. One referral was in search of freelancing jobs. Kistler sent the woman's resume to about 40 people and within a day, she had received five responses. This only works, though, if you have competent contacts, Kistler said. According to Nielsen NetRatings, social networking grew 47 percent during the last year. Facebook, a site for college students and recent graduates, contains nearly 5 million profiles. Friendster has more than 27 million profiles, photos and blogs. MySpace.com has more than 78 million members, counting multiple profiles from one source, according to Nielsen Ratings. Each visitor spends, on average, more than two hours browsing the site. Kistler said she is working on a site that is similar to MySpace, but for local business owners. LinkedIn.com allows users to see other people's contacts but not their contact information, so you have to get a friend to introduce you if you find someone who has similar interests. Plaxo allows people to create a business card and it automatically updates a user's Outlook when someone makes a card. Ryze and LinkedIn are business networking sites that ask for résumé information such as current and past companies, education and areas of interest. This allows a person to find others with similar information, as well as job postings with similar information. In addition to using social networking sites as a way to find potential employees, companies often use the sites to market themselves. One example is Sheraton hotels, which is inviting travelers to share trip photos, tips, commentary and videos at Sheraton.com. The Greater Colorado Springs Chamber of Commerce has a large networking database. Members can choose to be listed in more than 500 categories. With a user name and password, businesses can get a referral report that shows how many people are visiting the Web site, calling the 800 number and stopping by the front desk at the chamber to get information about their businesses. Sara Muirheid, the chamber's vice president of marketing, said the site will be redesigned in September to make it easier to search and link to the directory. Another networking technique that the chamber uses, Muirheid said, is Business After Hours. The social events average about 300 attendees and provide a low-tech approach for businesses to connect with other businesses. Kistler said she still attends face-to-face networking groups, but always asks for an e-mail address instead of a phone number. "I can remember everyone I've met by name and title," she said, "not face. "