This may not technically be job hunting advice, but it’s good advice nonetheless.

Today I read an article about a recent Carol Bartz interview. For those of you who don’t know, Carol Bartz is the CEO of Yahoo. While she is an extremely capable CEO, I was shocked when I read an article on the Huffington Post called Tiger Woods Scandal Better For Yahoo Than Jacko’s Death. The piece quoted Bartz as saying “God bless Tiger” when asked about his recent troubles.

Why would she say this? Well every time someone searches for information on the internet through a search engine, that search engine makes money through advertising. The more searches, the more money. So when one significant event causes a spike in internet searches (ie. Tiger’s car crash and family problems), Yahoo is in a prime position to cash in. Add to this the fact that the Yahoo home page is one of the most visited sites on the net and you have the potential for a nice bump in revenue.

Normally the capitalist in me understands the mechanics of making money and the joy felt by those who have just “hit a home run” in a business context, but here’s where I draw the line:

When asked if Mr. Woods would help the Internet company make the quarter, she said, “Oh, absolutely,” and added that he’s fueling more visits than Michael Jackson’s death.

Wow. If I were in her position, I would never want anyone to hear me say something like that. Exploiting the misfortunes of others for the sake of driving revenue is something that is done everyday, but rarely is it done with the type of openness and glee shown by Ms. Bartz.

I think I just decided never to become a Yahoo shareholder, at least so long as she is at the helm.

And the lesson I want you to take away from this? Don’t tread on others to get to the top. You may win in the short term, but you will lose in the long run.

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