Module 36: Background Checks and Social Networking Websites
Jim:
So these are the finalists?
Abby:
Yep. Seven folks, three openings.
Jim:
It's always nice to see names matched with faces. Dale gave me his rundown yesterday,
but this is the first time I’m seeing the pictures in person. So what have you got for me?
Abby:
Well, I did exactly what you asked me to. No aggressive data mining. I just looked at
their Facebook pages, Twitter accounts. I didn't try to use any sneaky back doors to get
around the privacy settings; I just looked at the things they posted online that anybody
in the world can see.
Jim:
Excellent. Who's up first?
Abby:
Anderson. Nothing much on her. Some party pictures with friends. Some show her
with alcohol. She's twenty-two now, in some of the shots she might be under twentyone, I guess. Nothing wild. Some poetry, quotes from movies, that kind of thing. She
seems nice.
Jim:
Dale thought so too. He ranked her fifth out of seven. Pleasant in person, decent
grades, resume a little thin he told me. What about Baker?
Abby:
Baker had substantially more party pictures.
Jim:
How substantially?
Abby:
Really substantially. Lots of booze. Bonging beers. Drinking whisky from a bottle with
no shirt on. And, what's it called when your friends lift your legs up over your head and
you chug beer from a keg upside down?
Jim:
Can't remember. An inversion, maybe?
Abby:
Let’s just say Mr. Baker seems to have been very active on the party scene.
Jim:
Interesting. He has a 4.0 grade point average. Dale ranked him fourth overall. Decent
interview and weak internship to go with the GPA. Any drugs in those photos?
Abby:
Not that I saw. Cigarettes, yes. Alcohol, tons. But no drugs.
Jim:
All right. Cooper?
Abby:
He's the last of the party boys. More party shots than Anderson, but less than Baker.
The only new thing with him was that he posted a photo of a topless girl in a series
called "New Orleans Road Trip." Looks like a Mardi Gras trip – he had lots of beads.
Jim:
Is the girl in the background?
Abby:
No, she's the only thing in the picture.
Jim:
Okay. Dale ranked him third overall. Said he had a great internship.
Abby:
Next we have Daniels. Not much on her, but there is one tweet worth mentioning.
Jim:
A tweet!
Abby:
She sent this an hour after her interview with Dale: [reading from her file] “Just
interviewed with giant bald dork at AlphaCo. Think the loser liked me. We'll see. Hope
I get an offer from BetaCo. Can't imagine working for that guy.”
Jim:
This really isn't funny.
Abby:
Oh, no.
Jim:
I mean, we're plan B for her, and she's talking about her potential boss behind his back.
But she's, you know…right.
Abby:
So right!
Jim:
Well, Dale didn't much like her either. He ranked her sixth. So what about Franklin?
Abby:
Franklin…does have a specific issue. On his page, one of the pictures shows Franklin
without a shirt and kind of from behind. He has a tattoo about the size of a playing card
on his right shoulder blade…
Jim:
That's it? Abby, lots of these kids that interview with us probably have tattoos. If it's
not visible when he's in a suit, I really don't see…
Abby:
It's not a regular tattoo or I wouldn't make a big deal out of it. It's very distinctive; it
seemed like I had seen one like it before, maybe on TV. So I started looking around the
Internet and eventually I found it. It's a hate group.
Jim:
Dang! Dale ranked him first. He thought Franklin was absolutely terrific. Are you sure it
was a match? I mean, might he have a similar tattoo?
Abby:
100 percent sure. The coloring, design, script, and motto are absolutely identical. This
isn't something generic that Franklin got out of a catalog at a tattoo parlor.
Jim:
And they're really bad?
Abby:
They're very into Hitler.
Jim:
I see.
Abby:
Look, maybe he got it without knowing much about the group. Maybe he did just see
the design and thought it was cool. Maybe he has no idea about what it represents.
Jim:
Possibly, I suppose. I want to look at his page myself later. Let's do the next one,
Gordon. What's the scoop on Ms. Gordon?
Abby:
There is no scoop on her. No Facebook page. No MySpace. Nothing. She hardly comes
up if you Google her.
Jim:
Well, that's okay. I don't have any social networking stuff.
Abby:
You're thirty-five. Look, I'm not saying it's a bad thing, it’s just she’s the only one of all
these candidates without a substantial online profile. Maybe she’s a loner.
Jim:
Or she might just interact with humans in person. Or she might really value her privacy.
Abby:
Maybe so.
Jim:
Well, Dale wasn't wowed by her. Ranked her seventh overall. “Bland personality, bland
resume,” he told me. She does have good grades.
Abby:
Sounds about right. You ready for some more?