With the social networking craze in full swing among elementary, middle and high school students, employers are starting to look at who you really are by searching your online profiles. Getting a job in today’s economy is hard enough, and with employers checking your Facebook, Myspace or Twitter profile it only makes it that much tougher.

Photos, wall posts, groups you have joined and your personal information are all things that can be cleaned up so that you will not get in trouble for them. If a teacher (or somebody who does not like you) sees a photo of you doing things you shouldn’t be doing on Facebook, he or she could turn you into the administration and a suspension could possibly occur. If you are a hard-core paranoid person, and you don’t want to take the time to clean up your account, you can change your last name to something different so that your employer or faculty cannot search for you on the network.

Also, when you run for a position of power in any organization, the people who are going to evaluate you will definitely browse through the online world and see if you have any skeletons in your closet. Anything that you post on your profile can be accessed by those who you choose to show, but in some circumstances people can see limited parts of your profile and that may be just enough for them to see what kind of person you are.

Recently, employers who you may want to work for may ask if you have an online profile on Facebook, Myspace etc. Even if you don’t tell them you have an online profile, they will most likely check either way to see if you are they type of person they would want to hire. Employers can learn more about who you really are just by jumping on the internet and seeing what your Facebook profile contains. If they find anything that they do not like that could really affect your chances of working for them.

Obscene wall posts, such as those with suggestive lyrics of songs or anything that is risky to say in front of your grandparents, are not acceptable to post on Facebook. Also, joining groups that involve things like drugs, sex or alcohol are not acceptable to be members of. Photos of anything that is illegal, such as drugs and alcohol are bad to post on Facebook for obvious reasons. Also, photos that may be revealing of certain body parts will not in any way help you gain respect from employers or peers.

The main thing to take into consideration in the case of putting things on Facebook is that you have to try and keep your things in good taste. If a photo of yourself or any wall post is not something you would not want your parents, teachers, or future employers to see, it is probably a good idea not to post them or have friends post them. Just remember that if you are going to post something, anyone in the world can see it. That is a scary concept, but if you just make sure to clean up all things people can see and you will have nothing to worry about.