Your footprints are everywhere today.

If you are online, you leave a trail of evidence everywhere you go today. Guess what? Employers want to see your tracks. We know job seekers are practicing answers to the tough questions after reading job search books and articles. And, we employers have been fooled by slick answers. We have hired people who said just the right things, but in real life couldn't get on first base. So, we go online to find the real you.

Seth Godin tells a fascinating story about this-

A friend advertised on Craigslist for a housekeeper. Three interesting resumes came to the top. She googled each person's name. The first search turned up a MySpace page. There was a picture of the applicant, drinking beer from a funnel. Under hobbies, the first entry was, "binge drinking." The second search turned up a personal blog (a good one, actually). The most recent entry said something like, "I am applying for some menial jobs that are below me, and I'm annoyed by it. I'll certainly quit the minute I sell a few paintings."

And the third? There were only six matches, and the sixth was from the local police department, indicating that the applicant had been arrested for shoplifting two years earlier.

The moral of the story is not just about covering your trail. If you are not online, that could be just as damaging. As I mentioned, we've been burned by hiring candidates with all the right answers. And so, many employers will be looking online to see real contributions and accomplishments you make in this world. We don't want to take your word for it. We want to read your blog, understand what motivates you, what's important in your life, see your circle of influence, know where you've been and where you're headed. We don't want to guess about you and seeing is believing.

Fortunately, we want to do this for you as well as for us. What counts in our business as well as in your life is to find a good fit between you and your work. In the age of Google, we're getting better at it. The Internet is going to move you faster than ever before into your natural position in life - into the job you are uniquely suited for. So, think deeply about what you want that position to be and live your life around that vision. Then, you won't have anything to hide.