I'd like to think that I am still in the "young people" category you're asking about, so I'll take a stab here.

The internet has created many new opportunities for people to create a "personal brand" without spending any money. Facebook, twitter, blogs, and websites all contribute to this personal brand. A blog is a great tool for letting anyone get to know you better. If you stick the blog on your resume, that gives an interested employer a way to get to know you beyond a pdf document and an interview.

With all these great tools, you need to beware, though. You can greatly damage yourself with things you post on the internet. Be wise about the personal brand you are building for yourself.

I think blogs can be a great way for any job seeker to show what his skills and past experiences are toghether with his interests and passions. I definitely recommend it!

I recently went to a social media convention where the speakers were talking about employing. Most of the agreed that after reading resumes they search for the applicants online presence. A great way to lead these employers to good information about you is a blog with your name in the domain (ie. deanelazab.com). This way it will come up relatively close to the top of the search and you can be a direct source of information about yourself.

A good blog can boost your reputation (or perceived reputation) and as such can increase your chances of getting a job, of this there is no doubt...

The internet is changing the way the recruitment industry does business, in many ways they are late to the party but they are sure catching up fast... I see sites like LinkedIn.com are becoming hotbeds of recruitment.

The downside of online presence is that your personal twitter or Facebook profiles can spill over in to your professional profiles, so all those pictures of you drunk at a party will appear in the same search results as your blog if a prospective employer searches for your name ;-) So be careful how you use your online profile.

All the Best!

Floyd.

Lifehacker published a piece today about discovering what you look like to others (like potential employers) on the internet: http://lifehacker.com/5447095/