Along the way (4,100 miles round trip), we were stopped 8 times for identity and citizenship checks. The borders are getting tight and the people patrolling them are, understandably, a little short of a sense of humor. The roads were still quite empty, the truck stops (good for email) were underpopulated.

We were fortunate to be able to drive a recent model convertible roadster (other long drives have featured less reliable transportation). 70 hours of wind in the hair left us sunburned and wind bleached. There was barely enough time for meals and the conversations at Hire.com in an eight day trip. (We are really dependent on air travel, aren't we?)

It was a visit to a world that had never heard of Electronic Recruiting.

But, there's nothing like a road trip to bring things into clear perspective.

Between Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico and Northwest Texas, there is little in the way of recruiting opportunity or demand. The vast stretches of mountain and desert are occupied by little towns and service oases. Growth and change operate at a slower pace. The workforce is mostly Mexican. The menus reflect this fact.

Interestingly, the fringe cities and towns (Reno, El Paso, Tucson, Laughlin) have job boards. By far, the most successful seem to be those offered by the regionalhelpwanted.com folks. The newspapers rarely had online classifieds of any sort. The businesses were too small and fragile to support complex applicant tracking systems or national advertising.

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