Attention job seekers: Fix your Facebook timeline now

If you're a Facebook user on the hunt for a new job, you need to make sure your account is ready for the new timeline.

Mon, Jan 30 2012 at 3:56 PM EST

Photo: marcopako/Flickr

Every Facebook user will be transitioned to the new timeline layout in the coming weeks. If you’re searching for a new job then you really need to take a few minutes to make sure your account is ready for the big switch. While information that was previously flagged as friends only will stay friends only, there is a chance that some buried public information could be displayed prominently on your new page.

Imagine this scenario. The year is 2007, and you were living the grand life as a newly independent college student. No parents to tell you what to do and no curfew to govern your Friday nights. You get yourself into a silly situation and a friend captures it on digital film. Since we’re in the Facebook age, this picture ended up on the Internet for all to see.

Now here it is, five years later. You’ve graduated from college and you’re on the hunt for your dream job. You’ve likely forgotten about the night of fun digitally captured and shared for all to see, but your Facebook timeline hasn’t. When the timeline switch happens, there is a chance that this picture will be on your wall under the 2007 heading for everyone to see — including recruiters or potential employers.

If the image was flagged friends only it wouldn’t, but how many times did you or your friends take the time to properly flag an item five years ago? If the image is, indeed public, then it can be viewed in only a few clicks. Thankfully Facebook is giving everyone time to prepare for the new timeline switch. Simply follow the steps below after you convert your page to the new format to ensure that your Facebook page is ready for public consumption.

1. Go to your Facebook page. You will see a note that you are in Preview mode and only you can see the page.

2. Click on the Settings icon then select View As.

3. Scroll up to the top of the page and select “Public” to view your profile as if you were a random person, like the human resources rep from your dream company, visiting your page.

4. Scroll down through the years to see what information is publicly available. If you like what you see, then you don’t have to make any changes. If you see the picture from that night in 2007, then you need to hide it from your timeline.

There is a lot of concern about this update, mainly that once-buried information may be available on your front page. The good news is that you have control over what shows up and what doesn’t. All you need to do is take the time to ensure your Facebook page is how you want it to look before it goes live. This is definitely worth a few minutes of your time.

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