I have to admit: I’m not a Facebook or MySpace kind of girl. To be honest, I’d rather skip food for a day than e-mail – odd, but true. So when I read a 2005 survey of executive recruiters which showed that three-quarters of them used social networking sites and search engines to find out information about prospective job candidates, I was a little skeptical. Honestly, why bother?

Out of curiosity, I decided to visit Facebook, where I was immediately asked to register. Click, click, enter, ding! Done. Easy enough, but now what? I entered random names from my high school yearbook. Click, click, enter, ding! Whoa. What is she licking?

Out of the 75% of recruiters who are using online tools to scout applicants, a full third have eliminated candidates based on what they found. Web sites like Facebook and MySpace are considered open forums where you have little to no right to privacy, so you can’t argue that your employer-to-be wasn’t supposed to be able to see that picture of you doing body shots on your profile page.

With internships and real-world jobs right around the corner, it’s important to talk about ways to make sure your online persona doesn’t torpedo your real one.

FIND YOURSELF

Using the major search engines, like Yahoo, MSN and Google, look up your name. Be creative – use your full name, nickname, an easy misspelling (I get a lot of “Erika” versus “Erica”) anything that might identify you. An interesting extra step, look up the street address you list on your resume. Why? Web sites that list debtors or outstanding accounts will often list mailing addresses in place of names. Find out if, and where, you pop up.

TONE DOWN THE PROFILE

A New York Times article tells the story of a Chicago consulting firm ready to hire a promising summer intern. They visited Facebook to see if he had a profile listed – and he did, where he gleefully discussed his interests in sex, drugs and violence. Opportunity of a lifetime … gone.

Of course, that company didn’t think he was an out-of-control addict. They didn’t think he’d bring that attitude to their business or clients. But they questioned his judgment. Why would he want to make that kind of statement where anyone can see it?

So review your profile, your page, your photos and the statements you make about yourself. Remember, you aren’t just judged by what you say about yourself, but also by your choice of information you think suitable for public consumption. When in doubt, ask yourself, “What would Grandma think?”

BLOG WITH A PURPOSE

Realizing that someone is reading your blog is pretty addictive. Most people start blogging with good intentions. But then you want to keep your readers. So maybe you get a little crazy. It’s just one voice in thousands, right?

Remember that blogs often feed off of each other – sections can be cut and pasted into other columns and take on a life of their own. If you’re a serious blogger, look into a site like Pubsub.com, which helps you monitor Web chatter that includes your name.

FINALLY... DON'T PANIC!

While you can’t ignore that this is happening, for now it’s still far from the norm. You have plenty of time to shape your Web presence to showcase the smart, savvy UChic lady you are. By knowing tomorrow’s trends today, you can remain one step ahead of the pack.

Happy job hunting!

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Erica’s 10-second tip of the month: Online résumés give you SO much opportunity to play with design, color, form and space, but in the end, most employers will still want something they can print and place in a file. Make sure you hae a downloadable PDF on your résumé site, so you don’t have to worry about a misaligned Web page printout representing you to a search committee.