Have you ever Googled yourself? It’s amazing and a little frightening what anyone with a computer and an Internet connection can learn about you. It’s even more frightening to think that a potential employer can be looking you up right now.

It’s important that you clean up your public profile prior to beginning your job search. Your public profile refers to any information that is easily accessible to the general public. This includes public documents such as court records, bankruptcies, credit history, as well as any information on the Internet — even if you are not the one who put it online.

Often referred to as “digital dirt,” online information can really hurt one’s chances of getting a job. Recruiters, like any other Web surfer, often search for information about their candidates before sending them to their clients. It is a little easier to remain unscathed by Internet results when you have a common name. However, employers who have your resume at hand have enough information about you to narrow down the search and find accurate personal information.

Websites such as Match.com, Facebook, WebShots and MySpace serve as valuable tools to jump-start people’s personal lives, but can also come back to limit their career options. One inappropriate picture can cut your chances of landing your dream job. Don’t let that happen to you and do not think it can’t. Employers check up on their current and potential employees more thoroughly than people think. It is also possible for employers or employees of the hiring company to find you by accident. The chances are high that you are interconnected through a social network (Friendster, for example) with someone in the hiring company.

However, services exist to help protect your name. Web companies such as Reputation Defender and WinClear.com were created with the sole purpose of cleaning up people’s Internet profiles. While services such as these are helpful, job seekers need to do their part in purifying their image – online and off. Google yourself, see what you find, and take down anything you have control over. You can even call search engines or website owners to have them remove your information from their databases. In addition, record a professional voicemail message for your cell and home phones and use a professional sounding email address on your resume. Employers are not so inclined to contact Sweetcheeks5093 for their VP of Finance position.

Cleaning up your online profile may prove to be a big chore. This is especially true for everyone in the military who has used the Internet to keep in touch with friends and family. However, it’s worth the time and effort since it can impact your career and future.

The takeaway point from this is that employers do not like surprises. Candidates often conceal information that would lower their chances of getting a job. Having unprofessional information available online is as accessible to an employer as having it on a resume. Taking the time to protect your name will be well worth it when you land the job of your dreams.