Can everyone see those outrageous toga party photos that are on your Facebook? Do you have “mud wrestling” and “partying” as some of your favorite interests on your profile? Do you constantly update your status with complaints about your life (or worse, your job)?

If you answer YES to any of these questions and you’re on the hunt for that spectacular job then you should check into Facebook rehab…and fast.

In a 2009 survey conducted by CareerBuilder, 45 percent of employers admitted that they use Facebook to review their candidates (which about doubled from 22 percent in 2008) and 11 percent plan to use Facebook in the future to check on their interviewees.

Also from the survey, 35 percent found content on the candidates profile to cost them the possibility of landing the job. Here are the top examples, from the survey, of why candidates didn’t get hired:

• Posted inappropriate photographs or information
• Posted content about drinking or using drugs
• Bad-mouthed their previous employer and co-workers
• Expressed poor communication skills
• Lied about qualifications

Go-Getter-Girls work too hard on creating flawless resumes and portfolios to have it all be flushed down the drain because of an inappropriate picture or comment on Facebook.

Before any interview, you polish your look and you double-check to make sure your resume and portfolio is perfect; so why isn’t that Facebook page getting the once-over when your profile is easily your online resume for anyone to see?

Here are a couple of suggestions on how to job-proof your profile:

• Customize your own privacy settings. Go to Account, select privacy settings. Select Customize settings. Change the things you share to Friends Only or Only Me
• Consider changing your name on your profile. Use your middle initial as your last name or use your middle name as your first name. How? Go to Account, select My Account. Under Settings, you will find “name” and select “change.”
• Make the pictures in which you are tagged only available to yourself: You can also do this when you customize your privacy settings.
• Delete any inappropriate photos: Think of it this way, if you don’t want your Grandma to see them then you don’t want a future employer to.
• Info should be short and sweet.
• Be smart about what you put on your Likes and Interests; no one really needs to know that you like “Your Mom” jokes.
• Watch what you say on your status: Employers will not be impressed with someone who gushes their relationship problems every hour of everyday.

With these helpful tips you should be on our way out of Facebook rehab and on the right path to landing that dream job.

–Erin Lucido

When it comes to clothes shopping, I’m a big fan of the idea of cost versus “cost per wear”– that is, dividing the price of a potential purchase by the number of times you will wear it. A ‘good deal’ generally is something that has a low cost-per-wear.  A recent experience reminded me that this formula can pertain to other purchases as well, including computers. Let’s call it cost versus cost-per-click.

On Sunday, my HP laptop died, and yesterday I bought a Mac. I’d long been a Mac fan, having used them through college and as a magazine editor. In law school, lured by stylish new models like VAIOs and their more economical pricetags, I hesitatingly switched over to PCs. Two laptops and a lot of headaches later, I’m switching back to Macs. My recent HP failed the “cost-per-click” test.  

A few days ago the barely 1.5 year old machine started locking up. We chatted online with the help desk rep, she ran some tests, and then informed us that my hard drive had failed. “I do not recommend replacing it,” she wrote, “because the machine is very old.” Very old? I don’t think so.  A good pair of jeans last more than four seasons– and so should a computer.

Of course, I can’t speak for PCs in general. I’m sure there are lots of reliable and affordable options out there, and it may be my own fault that my PCs didn’t last so long. I probably should have updated the anti-virus software more, or stored less pictures, etc.  But the bottom line is that when you consider “cost-per-click” my two PC purchases didn’t turn out to be such a bargain.  The MacBook Pro (shown below) was more pricey, but I have a feeling that like the Macs I had in college, it will prove to be a much better deal. 

And, it sure is pretty, too!