I find it interesting that those of you who defend personal Googling seem to see it as a matter of building trust. I don't find digging for personal info to be particularly expressive of trustworthiness, but that is my morality and to each his own. What amazes me is that anyone feels satisfied that such searching "proves" a T can be trusted. All it "proves" to me is a T who either has a minimal on-line footprint, or is very good at keeping their lives private. It would not give me any confidence that their life conduct actually was trustworthy. To me, it's an illusion.

The professional persona, on the other hand, is reliable: credentials, sanctions, etc.