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Daniel Houle had no idea that a headhunter was tracking him in cyberspace last summer.

An Ottawa-based marketing specialist, Mr. Houle was busy with his consulting practice, had no interest in looking for other work -- and was completely oblivious to the fact that his on-line persona was being scrutinized for what would turn out to be his ideal job.

But thanks to his Web site and his name popping up on search engines, Mr. Houle is now the business development manager at Ottawa-based Vexcel Canada Inc.

It was because of his on-line presence that Mr. Houle came to the attention of Ottawa-based recruiter David Perry, who had been hired by Vexcel to find a candidate with particular attributes.

Recruiters like Mr. Perry are finding that a few carefully chosen words on an Internet search engine can cut through the verbiage of hundreds of thousands of résumés to find exactly the right prospect.

Increasingly, what employers find -- and don't find -- about you on the Web is becoming crucial for job hunters.

And since the very same search engines are equally capable of uncovering evidence of indiscretion or foolishness, job seekers have compelling reason to put only their best foot forward in cyberspace.

"You are far more likely to be Googled by a recruiter than found on a job board, so you should make sure that you can be found on the Internet -- and that what's out there reflects you at your best," says Mr. Perry, the managing partner at Ottawa-based executive search firm Perry Martel International Inc. and the co-author of Guerrilla Marketing for Job Hunters.

It's a more important tool than you may realize.

Seventy-five per cent of recruiters use search engines to check out job candidates, according to a 2005 survey of 102 executive recruiters by ExecuNet, a Norwalk, Conn.-based executive job-search and networking organization. And 26 per cent said they'd eliminated candidates from consideration because of information they found about them on-line.

As well, 70 per cent of respondents to another recent survey of job seekers said they'd been contacted "out of the blue" by someone who found their contact information on the Web. And 40 per cent expressed concern about false information about them in cyberspace, according to the survey conducted by Zoom Information Inc., a Waltham, Mass.-based Internet search firm.

"Résumés are dead. How you present yourself on the Web today is the most important way to make your accomplishments known," says Russell Glass, ZoomInfo's vice-president of consumer products.

Mr. Houle was thinking along these lines two years ago when he registered an Internet address in his own name and created a website that was designed to promote his consulting business but also served as an on-line portfolio, offering examples of his accomplishments, showing off his marketing expertise and presenting a biographical sketch.

"The Web has become such an intrinsic part of the selling process, so why not use it to market yourself," he says.

Vexcel president Patrick McConnell, now Mr. Houle's boss, had been having a frustrating time looking for someone to market his company's highly specialized radar and remote sensing technologies. He waded through 150 résumés from job applicants before asking Mr. Perry's firm to search for a suitable candidate.

"What are the odds of finding someone with experience in sales of radar by reading through résumés?" asks Mr. Perry, who routinely uses the search engines Google and ZoomInfo to find not only people who are actively looking for work but also "passive" candidates who are not on the job market but could be persuaded to switch.

Mr. Perry says his first step in looking for a candidate for Vexcel was to fire up his Web browser, open a search engine and enter a set of keywords, such as "radar," "satellite imaging," "marketing" and "Ottawa," then scroll through the results looking for names of people with relevant qualifications and experience.

He was surprised when Mr. Houle's name popped up in his search, because he had actually known him for years but completely forgotten his expertise in that field.

When Mr. McConnell considered the various candidates that the headhunter presented, what impressed him most was the quality of Mr. Houle's website.

"He had the skill set of being able to market himself. He was the only candidate who showed that, and it allowed me at my leisure to see far more than just a cv," Mr. McConnell says.

A personal website can serve two purposes: help recruiters and human resource specialists find you in the first place, and then provide them with a way of getting to know you better.

In order to accomplish the first goal, Mr. Perry notes that it is important to make sure that your site states very clearly what you do and your skills, using language that includes all the key words that a recruiter might be looking for.

At the same time, he says, you should avoid stuffing the site full of words in a way that is designed only to catch the attention of a search engine, since sophisticated engines are not fooled by this technique.

"The best way to promote your website is to have a business card with your URL [web address] on it," Mr. Houle says.

Also important is the role a website can play once someone has made contact with a prospective employer.

Tom Weishaar, vice-president of global alliances at Route1 Inc., a Toronto-based information security firm, says he will typically ask people to check out his site while talking with them on the phone, or send a link to it in an e-mail to a new business contact.

He says the Web provides him with "a richer environment" in which to describe and illustrate his skills and accomplishments, while giving other people the ability to probe and explore the material he presents as deeply as they choose.

To this end, the biographical material on his site includes numerous links to additional information and background documents, such as articles or press releases in which he has been quoted.

Mr. Perry says that another good way of raising your profile on the Internet is to create a blog -- an on-line journal in which you can make reference to how you can share your experience and insights, such as industry news, trends, things you have found on the Web, or anything else that interests you.

The advantage of a blog is that it can be easier and less expensive to create and maintain than a website. The disadvantage is that it requires continual updating; if you fail to keep on top of it, you risk leaving the impression that you do not follow through on things, he says.

Another danger to keep in mind: leaving a bad impression through something you say in a blog or an Internet forum, Mr. Perry says.

While it obviously makes sense to avoid on-line indiscretions, it is worthwhile to keep checking your on-line profile regularly by entering your own name into a search engine to see what others might find there, he says.

"You should manage your Web presence or your on-line identity in exactly the same way as you manage your financial credit statements," Mr. Perry says.

He notes that ZoomInfo.com, a tool frequently used by recruiters since it brings together a lot of information about individuals, allows people to correct and amend their on-line profiles. On other sites, he says, it may be more difficult to get erroneous or objectionable material removed, since this would involve tracking down and contacting the person responsible for the site.

If there is embarrassing or unflattering material about you on the Internet, you can be sure that recruiters will find such digital dirt, Mr. Perry warns.

If it's just a matter of having once called the U.S. president a bad name, it may not affect your job prospects, unless you're looking for work down south, he suggests.

But, sometimes, information found in a Web search can be fatal to an individual's job prospects, he adds.

Web savvy

How can you present employers with your best image on-line?

Create a website or a blog. Make sure it describes your skills and experience, using keywords that recruiters will likely use when searching for job candidates on-line.

Promote your site. Provide it on your business cards, in e-mails and by word of mouth.

Create the right impression. Ensure an aesthetically pleasing look, make it easy to navigate and avoid glaring graphics and links that don't work.

Keep your site or blog updated. Otherwise, you will give the impression that you are careless or inefficient.

Watch what you say. Avoid putting frivolous, tasteless or opinionated material on-line that could come back to haunt you.

Check up on yourself. Keep tabs on your on-line presence and how you come across by regularly searching yourself out on search engines.

Clean the digital dirt. If you find false or misleading information, try to get it corrected or removed.

Anonymity can sometimes pay off. If you participate in on-line forums or groups that could offend or worry perspective employers, don't use your real name.

Kevin Marron