A few weeks ago, I came across this piece in The Washington Post:

. . .when the Yale law student interviewed with 16 firms for a job this summer, she was concerned that she had only four call-backs. She was stunned when she had zero offers.Though it is difficult to prove a direct link, the woman thinks she is a victim of a new form of reputation-maligning: online postings with offensive content and personal attacks that can be stored forever and are easily accessible through a Google search.

Which got me thinking: When was the last time I Googled myself?

While self-Googling, a.k.a. “egosurfing,” was once shunned (or at least not admitted publicly) because of its seemingly narcissistic intentions, it’s quickly become key in managing one’s professional reputation. As stated by George Lichter, President and CEO of SEO-famed InfoSearch Media:

“. . .a simple Google search can bring up all sorts of information, both positive and negative. . . .People need to be in control of their ‘personal brand.’ A prospective employer or school admissions committee isn’t going to respond well to a blog page littered with party photos. According to a recent study by ExecuNet, seventy-seven percent of executive recruiters run background checks on candidates by using search engines.”

So, have you Googled yourself lately?

Just a few months ago Time named “You” the Person of 2006, based on the boom of social and professional networking sites like MySpace, LinkedIn, and Friendster, as well as the growth of personal blogs and websites. But this boom also increased the number of opportunities for “You” to come up in search engine results—which means that the first impression you give potential clients, employers, or industry peers may very well be crafted by the links that come up after your name has been entered in a Google search.

Even if you’ve made a point not to disclose controversial or personal content about yourself on the Web, the same may not be true of your friends, family members, organizations you’ve joined, and politicians that you’ve donated to. Granted, from a professional point of view, you might not be too concerned about that drunken picnic photo of you that your Aunt Flo posted (and tagged with your name) on her MySpace profile…but are you comfortable with your current or potential clients knowing whether you donated to the Democrats or the Republicans? That’s the kind of information (often posted online for the purpose of full disclosure) that can shape perceptions—and can really turn some people, like potential clients, off.

On the flip, it’s also important to understand that managing your online “personal brand” doesn’t just involve eliminating unwanted content—it also involves marketing yourself by proactively seeding online content that creates a positive perception of you and/or your company. If you want people to think that you’re a credible professional in your field, then your online presence needs to reflect that. Search engine results for your name should pull up award mentions, interviews you’ve given, and blog posts and articles you’ve written. If nothing comes up, then you’ll look like, well, nothing.

Managing one’s online identity has become such a hot topic that it’s even given birth to paid services like Reputation Defender and InfoSearch Media’s soon-to-launch BrandMyself, which stay on top of and eliminate any unwanted personal online content.

But you can do a good job of managing and marketing your online brand without paying a dime. Blogs, social networks, and free do-it-yourself website builders have made it easier than ever to make yourself known—and a quick Google search can help you track down any content that you don’t want out there.

So go ahead. Be vain. Go Google yourself.