Virtually all candidates are happy to be included. Use the sites like quasi-resume banks by searching for education, experience, and other relevant skills.

Candidates expect employers to use a non-password protectes site like MySpace more than they expect them to use Facebook, but I recommend extreme caution when using either and it is probably best just not to use either. There is a lot of bogus info on both sites, some of which is posted by the candidates themselves for kicks and giggles with their friends. Some is posted by third parties such as disgruntled ex-boyfriends. If you must use the info, at least afford the candidate an opportunity to explain should you find anything damaging. There may be a very good explanation that will prevent you from declining to hire a true star.

That said, I would advise against searching Facebook or Myspace. Why? Too easy to find out things about someone that you don’t want to know–their age, their race, their sexual preferences, their religion etc. Knowing that isn’t illegal, but once you know them the burden is on you to prove you didn’t use that information in your decision process.

If an employer or college were to use publicly accessible information in a manner detrimental to me that was not mine, and they did so in a way that they were sloppy in correctly attributing whether it was true, then they would be at risk for legal action.

Now if the site is in fact mine then they are free to do with the information anything that is legal.

Oh, well, I hope you don’t miss by one.