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Many employers now routinely check out potential candidates on social network-ing sites, for example. Here are a few tips from Yahoo's Web life expert, Heather Cabot, on how to keep your digital persona "clean":

lKeep tabs on yourself. Regularly search for your own name and e-mail addresses.

lBe a picky joiner. Being a member of certain clubs does-n't send the right signals to future employers.

lEmphasise positives. You can control what's on your pro-files or home page, so play up membership in professional groups and volunteer activities.

People often forget that asking the right questions can be the dif-ference between starting the perfect job - or a nightmare. Here are useful questions to ask at your next interview:

lWhere is the person who last held this job? Obviously this won't apply if it's a new position; otherwise, the answer can be very revealing about the job's career potential. Did the last person get promoted? Move to a competitor? Or: How many people have held this job in the past five years?

lHow flexible are the work hours? If there's a policy that supports alternate work hours, do workers utilise it?

lPart of the interviewer's job is to sell you on how good the employer is, so if they have hesitate when answering a question, probe more deeply.

The Washington Post