I've written and spoken so many times about how employers can and should use social networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook for recruiting purposes that I had begun to believe that most college students now understood that employers are using these sites for background checking, reference checking, and other practices that could do serious harm to a student's chances of being hired. It now appears that I was wrong.

Brenda Fabian, the director of the Center for Career Services at Susquehanna University in Georgia recently asked a class of students how many were using Facebook. Almost all raised their hands. She then asked "how many knew that employers were reviewing Facebook for hiring purposes. No hands were raised, and their faces revealed the students' surprise."

I counsel employers not to use Facebook to exclude candidates from the hiring process as there is so much bogus information on it planted sometimes by the candidates themselves for kicks and giggles with their friends but other times by third parties, such as disgruntled ex-boyfriends. But candidates must understand that not all employers will listen to that argument and some will simply disagree and plow on ahead. Students searching for internships and recent graduates looking for entry level jobs need to be sure that their Facebook and other such profile pages are G rated if they want to maximize their employment opportunities.