by Christopher Gryniewicz

Created on: February 27, 2010   Last Updated: February 28, 2010

In November of 2009, a woman who was on long-term disability leave from her place of employment for severe depression was dropped by her insurance company when they found pictures she'd posted on FaceBook of her smiling and having a good time. Although the 29-year-old woman said that she was simply following doctors' orders to have some fun and take a vacation, her insurer felt the posted pictures of her at a strip and posing on a beach were proof enough that she was not depressed.

This may seem like an extreme example of the potential negative impacts of social networking, but it should be taken as a reminder of the importance of maintaining a professional FaceBook profile. The persona that we choose to display to the world on social networking sites like FaceBook can have greater impact on our everyday lives then most people even realize. Whether you are looking for a new job, starting a new relationship, or trying to maintain your current status in the community, profile pages are a way of saying to the world, “this is who I am.” It is not uncommon for someone on FaceBook to have a mixture of friends, family, and business colleagues all in one place and as a general rule of thumb if you wouldn't say it in front of them you probably shouldn't say it to the world.

What does a professional image look like? Here are a four easy guidelines to follow:

1. Lock down your privacy settings.

Remember that anyone can Google your name and pull up your FaceBook account. Even if your name is John Smith, as long as the person doing the research has a few select details (ie. your home town, the school you went to, the name of a relative) they can find you. You want to be sure that only those people who are your friends are able to see you. Regardless of how tight your security settings are however, remember that someone will still have access to your public search listing which could have incriminating evidence of its own.

2. Choose and monitor photos carefully.

Although the photo of you with your head over the toilet bowl after a long night of drinking might get a few chuckles from your friends it most likely won't illicit the same response from your current or potential employer. Watch to see who tagged you in photos as well, although you might not post those risqué pics other people might and a photo tagged with your name can still come back to haunt you. Above all, pay close attention to your profile picture. This is the photo that everyone will

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