A job applicant can have an outstanding resume, chat through a prime interview and look so professional that even Donald Trump would be envious. But if he or she looks like a fool on Facebook, all that hard work could be kissed goodbye.

Although TCU admission officials do not check potential students’ social networking Web sites, graduate schools and future employers do. One in 10 admission officers from the top universities in the country are surfing the Web, scoping out students’ profiles and gaining access to their private lives. Sites like Facebook left 38 percent of the officers saying the sites left a negative impression in evaluations.

It’s important that students remember to watch what they put up on these social networks. Everyone is entitled to having their own private social lives, but there are no policies that prevent the head honchos who hold students’ futures in the palms of their hands from stumbling across a profile or a picture. Future employers and schools want to associate themselves with people who have personality and a reputable academic standing. So, with that in mind, students need to take action and find a way to better portray themselves online, in case they fall victim to a random Facebook hunt.

Instead of worrying about this “invasion of privacy,” students should take advantage of this stalker-like admission screening. Not only will employers and universities have a chance to learn about a student through essays, applications and interviews, they’ll get an extra resume online. It’s an opportunity to express yourself and show who you really are outside of the workplace. Where one door closes, another opens.

Opinion editor Patricia Espinosa for the editorial board.