I love spy novels and movies when I was a kid. Oh, who am I kidding? I still love spy novels and movies. Especially the Cold War inspired stuff. James Bond versus the KGB. The CIA versus the KGB. Bring it on. Espionage was an obsession and now I get to do it in real life.

You’re probably thinking, “Wait, isn’t Lance in HR?” I think you mean “professional low level espionage.”

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Do you have a blog, Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, FriendFeed, Twitter, or other social media profiles active? If you don’t certainly many of your employees and candidates who have at least one of these things. The penetration of social media into the lives of people is getting higher.

There is a growing trend to start looking for these profiles by employers (both current and future) to check out current and future employees. People in HR that I know who do this say it is an extra insurance policy. If someone is bragging about illegal activity on their Facebook page, it could be an indicator of things to come.

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During my formative years, the TV show COPS premiered on television and I was hooked. Being a police officer always seemed like a cool job to me. You get your own car (American made and powerful), a gun, handcuffs, badge and bulletproof vest. Even cooler, if you were in the highway patrol, you could get a really cool wide brimmed hat. Let’s see, you also got to drive around, honk your horn, blow the sirens and get in car chases.

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We all do the white lie thing. At least, I hope others do the white lie thing. If your spouse really wants the bright yellow dress that makes her look like Big Bird from Sesame Street without the feathers and funny voice, what are you supposed to say? “Hmmm, are you sure you want to wear that?” just opens you to a bunch of uncomfortable questions about your wife’s taste. “You look great honey!” can be an almost unbearable lie that you will certainly let out of the bag at some point (probably when one of her friends tells her she looks like Big Bird).

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