Check Yourself Before You Wreck Yourself

Did you know, according to Career Builder, that 37 percent of companies use social media to search potential job candidates? Also, in a 2009 study, 45 percent of employers said they use social media to screen candidates during online background checks.

This is why it is more important than ever to periodically Google yourself. Have you done it? Do it now and come back here. Were you surprised? Impressed? Disgusted? Confused? Satisfied? These are things that an employer, or even a potential date could think. Don't act like you have never Facebook stalked your date for Friday night prior to meeting him or her.

In the past couple of months I have kept an eye on my online presence. I have a blog, a Facebook account and a Twitter account that very few friends know about. This way, I can still give 100 percent to my full self-expression and be who I want to be without making waves in the pool. Professors have always said be careful what photos you're tagged in online or what you post. Once it's out there, it's out there. In fact, after pressing 'Delete,' it's never truly deleted.

On the other hand, I do maintain a professional social media presence. If you were to search my name, you may find my LinkedIn, my professional Facebook, and maybe my Twitter account.

When I first started to purge my negative social media accounts from search engines, I found things that I forgot that I even had, and for good reason. I had an Ask.fm account, a Formspring account and Pinterest.

Do yourself a favor and check yourself before you wreck yourself. (Wreck your chances of getting that dream job, that is.)