Uncovering Your Digital Dirt

Recruiters are relying more heavily on online networking tools to discover as much information as possible about an applicant. What does this mean to most job seekers?

For starters, anyone posting to a blog about his or her current job should be aware of the potential effect on a job search. Search engines can easily find and point out your "digital dirt" to a prospective employer. Published articles, press releases, project lists, and a number of other sources find their way to the Internet with astonishing speed.

Googling yourself regularly (I like www.dogpile.com for a more complete list) is key to researching your online identity. And cleaning up your digital dirt by regularly replacing negative information is critical.