According to a recent survey initiated by the German government, more than a quarter of German employers admit to spying on job applicants on the internet where especially young people are all to careless when revealing facts about themselves on social networks like facebook or myspace.. Apparently, contestants are not invited for an interview if unsuitable remarks or photos are traced online.
Okay, nobody would like their company staff to be racist or have a criminal record. But would you seriously find any hints for this on the net? It is frightening that recruiters do not seem to trust their own social skills any more by not inviting someone for an interview just because, as it its plain for the world to see, this particular fellow has emptied a bucket of sangria with a couple of mates on a Mallorca holiday 17 years ago. Tracing this one snapshot could take hours (probably because the researcher is constantly distracted by superblonde21 in numerous holiday blogs) whereas any trained interviewer should find out after five minutes of personal conversation if someone is a complete idiot.
Could it be that the disastrous situation of the German job market is partly due to the fact that human resources want to know before inviting web designer Marlene, 28, well-trained and open-minded, as she puts it, for an interview, how she did in the Mariah Carey look-alike contest in 1997?
Do you honestly believe that companies are doing the best the can to stop the ongoing economy crisis if managers find the time to check if Martin, 31 from Essen, an experienced and enthusiastic engineer, recommends the book "Chat-up lines in 300 languages" in his amazon list of favourite books?
Dear would-be detectives and amateur spies in German offices, remember what David Brent aka Ricky Gervais said in the brilliant mockumentary "The Office": "Those of you who think they know everything are annoying to those of us who do."
The good thing about the new inquisitiveness in German offices is that frustrated job-seekers should relax: If you are wondering why you are never invited for a job interview, don't worry, this has nothing to do with your qualifications. Just blame it on the fact that you have run a David Hasselhoff fan club in 1985.

erschienen auf: www.mothertongue/wordpress