This morning at 10am, Tiger Woods will hold a press conference from that beautiful course that is TPC Sawgrass. (have I mentioned I'm a huge golf fan?) I frequent his official website from time to time and while it's not the best athlete/celebrity fan site, it does serve to motivate me now and again in both my personal and professional endeavors. Let's face it... Tiger turns people on and keeps them motivated. [insert joke about countless affairs here] Or at least he did until recently when his personal life hit the news.

So if you're one of those fans that are devastated by his recent infidelities or that think you'll feel better when he does his public apology today (because we know that's what's coming) then I have this to say to you:
Get a freakin' life and mind your own business.

But I want to back up a bit and talk about focus. You see, it's Tiger's focus that everyone marveled. In countless conversations I've had about Tiger Woods the athlete, Tiger Woods the icon or even Tiger Woods the man - they were always about his skill on the golf course or his razor sharp focus that took him to the top of his field. His drive and determination to be the best at what he did were what blew us away from the time he hit the golf scene to his most recent round of play. Witnessing his skills on the fairway were what his fans paid to see. Many have even flown around the world just to be there in person when he'd make an impossible shot and pump his fist in victory. His skill and focus were all that mattered.

After all, what Tiger did is between himself and his family. At best it might involve his friends. But it doesn't have a darned thing to do with you (unless you're part of that parade of ladies coming forward, I suppose.) And if you're one of the people that think he's no longer worth your adoration or dollars then that's fine. But I'd be willing to bet that before his little holiday auto-accident that 99.9% of his fans never raved about him because they thought he was monogamous. Nope - his fan base was primarily, if not all, about his focus and dedication to his craft.

It's a struggle for me to watch people completely dismiss someone and their skills because of a private issue or personal opinion that has gone public. It's so easy to do this to celebrities that we likely take for granted that we can bully them into an apology - or that they, as celebs, have the luxury curse of knowing exactly what their public feels. This leads me to ask the question: Do we do the same for people around us? Do we make the same snap decisions about job seekers because we don't like something that we discover in their personal life? Does it result in boycotting them? (because I know no one asks for an apology!)

Who hasn't heard of snap decisions being made about job seekers because of something a Recruiter or Hiring Manager spotted on a Facebook page? Hey, I'm not saying that the posting of 1/2 naked pictures from Passion Beach is the smartest thing for a job seeker to do, but I'm willing to bet that the same people that have ripped up their Tiger Woods fan club cards are the same ones making snap judgments about job seekers who may have a less than hardcore party pic or curse word sitting in the public eye.

To those Recruiters and Staffing personnel that decide to dismiss job seekers because of something they discover from snooping around on social networks I have this to say to you: Get a freakin' life and mind your own business. Make selections based on the basics - Knowledge, Skills and Abilities. (You remember these, right?) And unless you find something that truly puts your company at risk, you're out of line in making decisions around politics, off-color humor, personal updates or marital fidelity discovered via social.

The real kick in the head to the average job seeker is that he or she won't likely get that second chance that the celebrities get by holding a press conference, looking sad and issuing a scripted apology. Yup, you heard me... Tiger will be back - just like Michael Irvin, Michael Phelps, Koby Bryant - the list goes on.

Truth be told... I'd have even more respect for Tiger if he chimed in today with something along the lines of telling the public (and sponsors) that he is working through the issue with his family and everyone else should just take a hike.

Originally posted at RecruiterGuy.net