Civil Service 2.0

Adriel Hampton, a San Francisco public servant and host of Gov 2.0 Radio, tackles an interesting question on his blog: in the new "reputation economy," will the government still require a résumé to fill a job? "Potential business partners will find you on Google or a networking site, read your great bio, do a little independent noodling around into your background and decide to give you that killer contract," he writes.

The thought is striking, especially considering that the government has just recently tackled the question of whether it should require just a résumé, rather than lengthy essay questions, in the application process. At first glance, the reputation argument seems unlikely, especially given the importance of competitive hiring procedures and the merit principles in federal service. But Hampton makes a good point: even before social media, reputation-based hiring still took place in government. I'm interested to hear from you all on whether online profiles and reputations have a future in federal hiring. Will we see a change, or will traditional civil service rules still apply?