A survey of executive recruiters by

ExecuNet is liable to send job-seeking bloggers diving for the delete key: Job applications have been hitting the round file with no further ado once recruiters decide they don't like what they see on a job candidate's Web log.

The survey is by no means comprehensive, but it's credible. It's not hard to believe that recruiters and employers, deluged with applications for the high-paying jobs, are looking for ways to weed out candidates. Thanks to the Internet, a human resources employee could see your blog and send your application into the ether long with a finger twitch before you ever get the chance to strut your Ivy League resume in a power suit at an interview.

It may have struck some candidates as unfair that a prospective employer might base a first impression on, say, a blog photo taken 10 years ago in college ("Moon over Lake Shasta").

Welcome to the real world, where employers look for any sort of edge in selecting the right employee the first time - and any sort of excuse to reject the iffy ones. Personality tests already are standard pre-employment hurdles in many companies. Why should anyone be surprised that the words and photos that candidates assemble about themselves for the whole world to see should also be fair employment criteria?

What is surprising is that bloggers would figure they had a complaint coming to them about it. Haven't they ever entered their own name into a search engine to see what pops up?

Executive recruiters may find their jobs made easier by all of the the private information floating around online, but we would be happy with less ambient personal information out there, whether its sent out in cyberspace for anyone to find or imposed on us via cell phone at street corners, restaurants and stores.

There's grace in mystery and silence, particularly because both are increasingly rare.