It’s summer internship interview season here at NYU Stern, and my fellow MBA classmates are roaming the halls looking sharp in their suits with polished résumés in hand.  Everyone has spent countless hours crafting their ‘stories,’ conducting mock interviews, and casing with fellow students.  I’m fortunate to go to school with some exceptional people who I know will do well in this structured recruiting process.  But what about for those of us who are not pursuing the traditional post-MBA routes of investment banking, consulting, or a management role in a large corporation (among others)?

Several students like myself are opting for less structured career paths in fields such as venture capital, startups, or tech companies that may not recruit at NYU (if they formally recruit at all).  While I believe that putting your best foot forward, both offline and online, is important for just about everyone (especially so you don’t end up Facebook fired, dumped or evicted), I would argue that it’s even more so for those of us in the ‘non-traditional’ bucket.  I would expect that people conducting their career search primarily through networking, or applying to jobs cross-country, are even more likely to have someone seek them out online to learn more before deciding whether to accept an introduction, or to pursue a geographically remote job candidate.

Last month Albert Wenger of Union Square Ventures spoke to the NYU Entrepreneur’s Exchange Club about VC and working at startups.  One thing that really struck me is that Union Square Ventures doesn’t really review formal résumés when looking at new analysts/associates – they say “point me to your online presence.” Wow.  That’s partly what got me moving in creating this blog (that I had planned for so long but had never really gotten around to).

Even if other firms aren’t this explicit, you can bet that recruiters or people who are making hiring decisions are Googling you, or looking for you on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube or the myriad of other social media outlets.  Fortunately you have a lot of control over what surfaces on these sites and with a little work, can put your best foot forward with the content that places you in the best light for anyone seeking you out online.

I plan to do a series of follow-up posts highlighting both basic and more advanced tactics on building and shaping your online presence.  Stay tuned.