As a rule, you should never put anything about yourself on the Internet that you wouldn’t want a potential employer to see.

“Social networking sites have become a phenomenon when it comes to checking out employees,” said Don Owens, director of career services at University of Mary Hardin-Baylor.

Social networking Web sites have become so popular among college students and the general public, that UMHB now offers a workshop several times a semester called “MySpace, Facebook, and My Future Employer.”

“We saw a need to inform our students that potential employers can use these sites to screen applicants,” Owens said.

Between MySpace and Facebook, there are more than 165 million user accounts throughout the world, potentially leaving a see-through portal between work and personal matters. The sites allow users to share pictures, along with employment, education and contact information with friends.

Owens said that too often, college students share raunchy pictures of themselves at the bar or at parties, doing things they probably wouldn’t like a potential employer to view.

“If you’re an employer, and you’re going to spend a lot of money training an employee, you’re going to use every available resource you have to perform background checks on that person,” Owens said. “A lot of companies are beginning to realize that these networking sites serve as free background checks.”

A 2006 study, conducted by the National Association of Colleges and Employers, found that more than one in 10 employers used social networking sites to perform background checks on employees, while 40 percent of those questioned said they were undecided about the practice.

Owens noted that people need to keep in mind that this study was performed two years before Facebook started to allow people using the search engine Google to type in a person’s name and find a preview of their profile along with their picture.

“We try to warn our students not to send an unflattering message to employers by making those types of images available,” he said. “We try to let them know that their profiles on these sites can often act as a virtual resume.”

Companies don’t want to hire someone who participates in questionable social activities, Owens said.

“It’s sad, but nowadays students are going to have to start thinking about these things well before they’re even in the process of looking for a job,” Owens said. “Pictures you took your freshman year can come back to haunt you.

“We try to tell our students to have fun with the sites, while keeping things positive,” he said. “Get rid of the bad photos and the unflattering messages and put things on there that portray a positive light.”

Kathryn Norris, director of student support services at Temple College, said the college also offers advice about social networking sites during resume building workshops throughout the year.

“Some students just don’t understand how much information is electronically available about them on the Internet,” Ms. Norris said. “We try to warn our students that they need to be cautious as to what sorts of information they want to make available.”

Ms. Norris said TC has placed a ban on Facebook and MySpace through campus computer servers.

What was originally intended as a site for students with collegiate e-mail addresses when it was founded, Facebook opened itself up to the general public in 2006, allowing everyone over the age of 13 to join. Users of MySpace must be over the age of 13 as well.

Both sites offer privacy options, allowing users to limit who can view their profiles.

“If you’re going to put things on it you might not want available to the public, I would suggest going to your privacy areas, and setting up your account so that you’re comfortable,” Owens said. “But you have to keep in mind however, that if someone really wants to see your personal information, they’re going to try to find a way to get it.

“They could have someone else in the office add you as a friend, or they could try to contact someone who already works with them who is one,” Owens said. “By doing that, they may be able to access your personal information.”

TC student Melissa Irvin, 20, said she doesn’t think it’s fair that a business can use the social networking pages to screen people.

“I don’t think it’s right to judge someone based on what their Facebook page might say,” Ms. Irvin said. “It surprises me that there are places that do that. I don’t see how your Facebook page could impact your work performance and how qualified you are for a job.”

TC student Marsha Hinkle, 18, agreed.

“I think that it’s wrong - you could be a totally different person than the image they may get from your personal pages,” Ms. Hinkle said.

“I don’t have anything on my MySpace page that I’m ashamed of. I use it to keep in contact with people from my youth group,” Ms. Hinkle said.

Ms. Hinkle and Ms. Irvin said they have their personal pages setup with privacy settings that they’re comfortable with.

Several local employers interviewed said they do not use social networking sites to perform background checks.

Temple school district spokeswoman Regina Baird said the district is in the process of discussing using the sites during background checks.

A spokeswoman for Wilsonart International in Temple also said the employees within the human resources department could not access social networking sites on company servers, so there was no way they could use them to perform background checks.

Even though it’s probably in their best interest to take down questionable materials from their networking sites, potential employees should also look at the positives the sites have to offer.

Keith Minnis, director of recruitment and retention at Scott & White Memorial Hospital, said the company does not use social networking sites to perform background checks on potential employees, although he said there have been talks of using them as recruiting tools in the future.

“We currently use a third party to perform background checks on employees,” Minnis said. “But we have had discussions about using sites like Facebook to look at and communicate with potential employees.”

As a company with a very large workforce, Scott & White is always looking at every available resource when it comes to attracting employees, Minnis said.

“And social networking sites have become very popular,” he said.