Hiring managers and recruiters troll online looking for candidates even before positions are posted. When you submit an application, they evaluate information from both your resume and from your online presence. It is up to you to control the information they see online. For example:

◾Photos are not recommended for resumes but they occur everywhere online. When you are job hunting, you want those photos to reflect your professional appearance.

◾Online rants or tweets about how you hate your boss and coworkers or how you deliberately sabotaged the office coffee maker are going to put off potential employers who are not looking to hire complainers or lunatics. No matter how bad your work situation is, stop ranting about it online.

◾Resumes do not contain information about marital, sexual, religious or political orientations. (The exception is if you are applying for a job where religion or politics matters; for example, if you want to handle public relations for a political candidate.) When you are job hunting, limit access to your social media sites rather than give employers access to personal information they are not entitled to and that is not relevant to your abilities as an employee.

◾Resumes contain detailed information about your work history, accomplishments, skills and education. Make sure your online presence echoes that information accurately. Also make sure that you use proper grammar and spelling both in social media and in your resume. Communication skills are important.

◾Patrol comments made to your online sites because recruiters and hiring managers may judge you based on the comments that appear.

When your social media presence is aligned with your resume and both present you in a favorable light, your chances of moving to that all important interview have just doubled.