Job hunting requires every soon-to-be graduate to evaluate their “self.” Long gone are the days when this just meant a professional appearance, demeanor and a clean resume for an interview.

“No regrets” = No job

With online technology and the wide array of activities college students take part in, a graduate’s “self” is now scattered throughout cyberspace. Sometimes the Google search will reveal good things for the prospective employee; such as a well-crafted press release a student wrote or a professional student Web site. But at other times, virtual cluttering can ruin chances for a job, and gives a potential employer the chance to discredit a candidate even before a face-to-face interview.

How realistic is it that employers will search your name online before an interview? A study conducted by CareerBuilder.com in 2008 finds that more than 20 percent of employers search for applicants’ social networking profiles online. This percentage is up nine percent since 2006, indicating that this trend isn’t shrinking—it’s growing every year.

Pull out the looking glass and evaluate

It’s interesting that as a PR student the issue of representation need be discussed; after all, image management and quality communication rule the industry. The idea of marketing, and even representing our “self” transparently and accurately is something we should strive to do every day. For those of us who have never been tagged in those wretched beer bong-chugging pictures on Facebook and have never written “about me” sections littered with curse words, what does this rise in employers searching the Web mean?

The bottom line is that you must be consistent with your image and representation. The common sense but dynamite Web site Bizzia.com provides many short and sweet insights into branding that can just as easily be applied to a soon-to-be-graduate instead of a material product.

The bottom line? The brand = you. Be consistent, transparent and leave behind the “no regrets” mentality of college. It could cost you a job.