Alexandra Levit’s blog has been catching my eye this week and she’s done it yet again. Today, Levit highlights a product that is definitely worth looking into for all of you who are applying for jobs, and those of you who will be applying to jobs in the future; so pretty much a product for everyone out there.

*Sidenote: I am not endorsing this product, I have never tried this product, nor have I researched this product in depth… this blog post is purely just to pass information on to all job seekers in hopes that it may actually help some of you!/p>

We all know how important an online presence is in today’s job market. We also know how risky an online presence is in today’s job market if you do not control it and monitor the image of yourself that is being presented. Think about your Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter accounts…would you want a potential boss seeing every detail of your profiles. According to Levit:

Microsoft released a study in January that showed 70% of HR recruiters in the U.S. use online profiles and social networks to determine employment, while only 7% of U.S. consumers thought this was true. This discrepancy is significant -- and points to the clear fact that in order to be successful job seekers have to recognize the importance of their online reputations and the impact this information can have on their careers.

So, how are job hunters like you supposed to take control of their online reputation after they’ve cleaned up their profiles and deleted those pictures from “Annie’s Naked Beach Party ’09!”? I present to you, ReputationDefender. It is an online service that searches the deepest darkest corners of the interweb to find out what people are saying about you and who is saying it. The service:

Can help you make [content you deem to be false or negative, or perhaps just irrelevant] become less prominent in searches, and in some cases, disappear. The service protects your privacy by removing personally identifiable information from databases that sell your information.

In theory, this product sounds like a great safety net. Who wouldn’t love a little peace of mind while dealing with the stressful situation of a job hunt? But I’m always skeptical. So to any of you out there who try ReputationDefender (starting at about $9.99 a month) let us know if it works! And if it helps get you a job… I get 20% of your first paycheck. No? Doesn’t work that way? Ok…

"One wifi, many laptops" courtesy technotheory via Flickr Creative Commons