When posting items to social networking sites, job seekers need to remember that such sites are accessible to prospective employers.

Nothing has revolutionized the way people interact with one another more than the Internet. Hundreds of millions of people log on to the Internet each day, and most of those people aren’t there to work, but to network, mainly with friends and family. While e-mail is as popular as ever, more and more families and friends are using social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace to keep in touch. But fans of social networking sites could pay a price.

While these sites continue to grow in popularity, many job seekers are finding a downside to uploading your life for all the world to see. In fact, job seekers aren’t the only ones paying a price. In March 2009, Dan Leone, a longtime employee and lifelong fan of the National Football League’s Philadelphia Eagles, was fired over a Facebook posting in which he criticized the team for not re-signing a popular player. Despite his long history of employment with the team, Leone’s post was enough to get him fired.

While the Eagles’ decision to fire a longstanding employee and fan might seem harsh, the Eagles certainly aren’t alone in scanning social networking sites to check up on current or prospective employees. In a recent survey of hiring managers, employment website CareerBuilder found that nearly one in four hiring managers (22 percent) are checking  social media pages to help determine if prospective employees are up to snuff. The hiring managers admitted scanning the pages for signs of excessive drinking, drug use, whether or not applicants have spoken ill of past employers or coworkers, and a host of other behaviors that would raise red flags. While 22 percent might not seem too prevalent, consider that the figure from a year earlier was just 11 percent, indicating that prospective employers are increasingly looking to social networking sites as a way to judge applicants’ character. This trend is expected to increase.

While social networking sites can be detrimental, they can also be beneficial to applicants. In essence, users will determine how valuable or damaging a social networking site can be, and certain guidelines should be followed to get the most out of such sites.

●    Employ the grandmother rule. No one is on their best behavior 24/7. College students, in particular, many of whom grew up with MySpace and Facebook as part of their lives, are more inclined to share anything and everything about their lives on these sites. Unfortunately, certain material is inappropriate and should not be broadcast to the world. In general, the grandmother rule is a great way to gauge whether or not information should be shared online. If it’s something your grandmother wouldn’t approve of, it’s something prospective employers would likely frown on as well. If Grandma would give the go-ahead, then go for it.

●    Use it to promote yourself. As damaging as social networking sites can be to a person’s image, they can be equally beneficial if used correctly. Instead of posting pictures of yourself from the weekend beer bash, post images of you doing positive things. If you’ve done charity work, post images of you participating in such activities.

●    Don’t mug for the cameras if you’re concerned about your reputation being compromised. Even if you’re not posting images of yourself online, images of you can pop up on other people’s sites. Remember the the scandal surrounding record-setting Olympian Michael Phelps (who lost lucrative sponsorships after photos of him smoking marijuana were posted online in late 2008)? One can never know when photos or videos will come back to haunt you. Ask friends and family members to limit photo postings of you on their pages and be sure to untag yourself in unflattering or compromising photos
or videos.

●    Keep your opinions to yourself.  Even if you manage to keep images of yourself off these sites, your opinions, as Leone learned, can be equally as damaging. While Leone was simply stating an opinion many of his fellow fans agreed with, that didn’t make it right, at least from his employers’ perspective. Regardless of how strongly you feel about politics, religion or any other topics that might invite controversy, keep these opinions to yourself, or at least off the Internet while you’re looking for a job or seeking a promotion.