When you're graduating college or job hunting, or seeking out a potential mate, or networking, or just about anything you do in life to build wealth and prosperity, who says that anyone who meets you will know you from Adam? Moreover, and especially pertinent to students, your credentials are almost all the same! Classes, maybe an internship, and a lot of parties. How do you expect to land that cherry picked job without some distinction?

If you really want to position yourself as the best candidate, you really need to put some distance between you and your competition. Further, with the advent of counter-googling (which I use religiously on EVERYONE I meet), that odds that you'll be googled are increasing to the point where anyone who's anyone will want to have SOME presence on the Internet.

In true web-centered fashion, here are some ideas to get going with. The greatest thing is that you can do nearly all of this stuff for way less than the price of the suit you'll need for all of the interviews you'll get! Seriously - budget $50 - $100 for a few of these ideas and you're rolling.

1. Write Articles (On anything - just write!)
We've all written papers, we all have an opinion about how we could do something better in our industry, and we all want our voice to be heard. However, so few people actually get out and go public with the written word that you'll quickly distinguish yourself as a thought leader with a well crafted article to an industry trade pub, local paper, online journal, or local user group. Join a group like the Technology Executives Club in Chicago (you can join no matter where you live) and have your articles published in front of over 6000 execs! I've seen a lot of feedback on stuff I've written, and the dialogue surrounding somthing you've written is almost always productive!

2. Start a Weblog
You can get your name out to nearly everyone you want to know via a blog. Put it on your resume, post intelligent thoughts about your life and ideas, and self publish the far-out ideas that won't fit anywhere else. Besides, how are you going to fill up all that unemployment time anyway. On a more serious note, a blog is one of the most search engine friendly web tools in existence, so when someone 'googles' you, it is highly probable that your blog will be the first item in the search!

3. Get a Speaking Gig
Nothing puts you friend and center and exudes expert status and credibility like a good speaking engagement. It doesn't matter if it's the Eagles Club, the local chamber of commerce, or InternetWorld, just get out and speak. The audience at most of these events are usually influentials themselves, and weild the power to move things along should they take a shine to your topic.

4. Share Your Knowledge
Often, giving something away is a great way to earn recognition. Suppose you've devoted the past six years of your career to turning around failed sales force automation initiatives at mid-tier manufacturing companies. Why not share the information with other organizations in need of strong developmental and organizational leadership? Consider writing a short bulletin on "Strategies for Driving Adoption and Compliance of CRM and SFA Technologies." Send this to "prospective" companies as a "thought you might find this interesting" piece, and follow up with a warm call from there. Even if the company you're calling doesn't have a position for you, this is terrific networking tool.

5. Go Public - Serve on Task Forces, Boards of Directors and Local Organizations
Making yourself visible within your professional community is vital. You can either do this through high-level board affiliations or through volunteer contributions to professional associations and executive committees. These efforts increase your visibility and expand your network of contacts.

6. Send Out Personal Press Releases
Getting noticed is hard to do when you don't tell anyone what it is that you're doing! While this may seem awkward at first, sending out a personal press release is nothing more than letting the community know that you're alive and doing something worthwhile. There are dozens of reasons to send out a press release (check out this post for several...). Need an example?

The aforementioned items are hard work, but require little investment other than your time. Take them seriously. Do not publish something that you're not proud of saying, and don't volunteer for something you can't keep your commitment on. Remember, you are trying to build your presence, credibility, and network of oppurtunities. In the end, all you have is your reputation, and your Google rank.