One of the hardest decisions of late is deciding who to hire to fill the Word Processor position at Data Services. It’s a $40k job that isn’t the most demanding when it comes to credentials, you basically have to be able to type and use web apps and a bit of SQL. I had roughly 250 people apply on Indeed plus a few more resumes I got from staff and I interviewed roughly ten and made a short list of three or four to decide upon.

I’ve been calling their references and seeing what I can find out about them by Googling their names and checking their public social media accounts. Some of its pure curiosity but I also want to see if they will be a good fit for the office, if they’ve done anything notable good or bad, and if there is anything that they’ve posted that is really on the fringes that could come back to embrass me or my employer.

I worked for over two years as the Deputy Director of Research Services – and a decade ago was a Researcher – so I know a thing or two about background research into individuals based on public records and what’s out there on the internet. I’m pretty good at digging up dirt using just what’s public. And it’s important to do due diligence – be it government appointees or new hires. Plus not only do I not want to get in trouble with the agency director but also I don’t want to go through the process of interviewing a whole new group of people should the new hire not work out.

For a while I was a big social media user but once I became the Deputy Director of Research Services I deleted most of my social media accounts and locked down my Facebook. Not that I ever post many of the popular memes or political posts – but I certainly have my own views on the issues of the day. I hate how nasty social media gets with the comments and the shares. And the echo box nature of social media with its likes and shares.

That said, I sometimes express my views on my blog about politics and every day. I am not strongly partisan – I’m an enrolled Democrat and I work for the Democratic party but I keep an open mind and have independent and sometimes conservative views on issues of the day, such as gun control. I like my Gadsen flag and the freedom it represents – even if it’s alienating symbol to liberals. I like bacon, burn my garbage, own guns, drive a big jacked up truck and I am working to own my own land and have that off grid cabin. All those things are distinctively pungent in some people’s minds. I frequently talk about my experiences, my travel, nights in the wilderness. When I write and share on my blog it’s for all to see including a perspective employer. How would I look at my blog from the perspective of some one who just Googled my name and found it as one of the first listings?

I don’t know how I would view it. Probably not negatively, if anything I would note the wide variety of skills that Andy has or what an adventurer he is. But maybe I’m overly favorable about myself – I’d pass a different judgement on others. Obviously, professionals have a personal side, they do things besides work. Now my social media nor my blog is cultured for super high inspection by the public or as an uppty professional, but it is me. I tell my story, one word, one photo and map at a time. Maybe for some perspective employers my blog would be a negative but maybe I wouldn’t want to work there at any rate if it’s so opposed to whom I am as an individual.