Do participate in industry online forums. In reporting for this column, I found hiring editors who say that people who participate in relevant industry discussion lists with intelligent comments are more likely to get hired than those who don't. Most readers of this column are in the news business. Most journalists wouldn't think twice before checking out the background, using the Web, of someone they are writing about. It would be a double-standard for news people to object to others, i.e. employers, doing the same thing to them by searching publicly accessible Internet archives.
Employers Do use the Internet to learn more about a job candidate.
Sampling a person's postings to industry discussion forums is a useful way to learn how a job candidate thinks, and how she presents herself. If a single posting to a forum is troublesome, spend the time to look at more posts to see if the behavior is a pattern. Imagine the repurcussions if employers regularly used this technique to spy on the personal interests of employees or potential employees. It would put a damper on the free speech that is so important to the health of the Internet, as self-censorship spreads for fear of economic hardship. If after researching a candidate on the Web you find material that causes concern, talk to the person about it.