I’m a swinger looking for a good time and my profile picture shows me taking a shot of tequila with a caption that reads, “Gettin’ crunk!”

Not exactly the same words or images you would use at a job interview, is it? So what happens if my prospective employer decides to take a look at my MySpace or Facebook profile? I doubt it would make me look like the best candidate for the job.

Rumor has it that employers are now doing this ?” reviewing MySpace and Facebook pages before hiring new employees.

Is this a violation of our privacy? I mean, don’t I have the right to be a drunken swinger after work? The truth is: These are public domains. If you really don’t want everyone seeing this part of your life, then don’t post it. Don’t whine and cry because you didn’t get the job.

Employers have the right to check up on people they consider hiring. It’s like giving them a free background check. If you expose everything about yourself and they see it, how can you blame them for pre-judging you?

Character is a very important trait when you’re working and impressions last. It’s only natural that employers would want to use every means possible to find the traits of their employees.

Companies consider employees an extension of what they represent. If you want a job with a reputable company, it’s not going to want someone with a screen name of “Biatch” representing it, especially if the company has clients who can look you up too.

You have to be responsible for how you depict yourself. Here is a little word to the wise: The internet is public. That means that anyone can see what you post, including your mother. So think twice before exposing private and embarrassing facts about yourself.

We all want to portray a level of professionalism in the workplace, so why open employers to that side of your private life? It’s fine to have an account with any of these forums, but be realistic. Employers want classy, not trashy.

But if you really must have your page be wild and crazy, then try using a few of these tricks. Don’t use your real name.

You know how to find your friends, so you don’t need to worry about not being found. This can also stop other people from finding you, including that psycho ex.

Another option is to make your page private. Surprisingly, some people don’t know about this. Keep your profile picture classy and set your profile to private.

That way, if employers decide to look up your MySpace page, they’re limited in what they can see. If the picture is classy, then at least you’re portrayed in a professional manner.

And if this employer contacts you to ask for the full profile, you’ll have time to clean up your page.

Jobs are important – far more important than showing everyone how much you had to drink on your birthday. Represent yourself in a positive light or hide what you don’t want seen. Otherwise, suck it up and don’t cry if you don’t get the job.

Linda Le can be reached at [email protected]