We all know unemployment is high and the job market is tight. One bit of advice I can give to job seekers is to take a look at your Facebook, MySpace, or Flickr online profiles. What you see may explain why that job offer you were so sure of landing never materialized.

More and more employers are turning to technology to evaluate prospective hires. From paid service background checks, to simple Google queries of an applicant’s name, you can pretty much count on having your online persona ‘checked out’ prior to receiving a job offer.

For example: According to SHRM data, in 2007 20% of employers said they scrapped a potential job candidate because of information they found on the Internet about the candidate. An additional 12% of employers said it is “very likely” they will begin using the Internet to screen job applicants. These numbers have most likely increased considerably since 2007.

At the very least job seekers need to scrub their social media and photo posting pages to remove any potentially incriminating content or links. What was cool in college isn’t so cool to a prospective employer in a tight job market. Blogging can even be a deal-breaker if an applicant’s blogging community, or postings are associated with questionable shared interest groups. Scrubbing may be enough to do the trick but the nature of the Internet and social media is all about data sharing. You never know where those bachelor or bachelorette party photos have ended up or could appear on a basic Internet search. So cover your butt. A few yucks from your BFF’s over some weekend roadtrip photos isn’t worth missing out on a plum employment opportunity.