There are plenty of stupid things you do on Facebook, but you probably wouldn't expect that being too private is one of them. There are actually real downsides to locking down your Facebook profile. It can hurt you in a job search or the quality of the search results for your name. Here's why.

Facebook can be a little scary when it comes to your privacy. It doesn't really have the greatest track record, and we've all heard stories about how prospective employers have found embarrassing photos and information that led to problems in the hiring process. When we hear about the downsides to sharing publicly, our instincts turn to paranoia. We want jobs. We don't want to be embarrassed. We want to survive online with our dignity intact. Those are all great goals, but completely locking down your Facebook profile is taking it too far. It can actually hurt you because you're not providing good information.

When You Post Nothing, Everyone Else Decides Who You Are

You don't have control over what other people post about you. If you get drunk at a party and someone snaps a photo, it may end up online. Sure, you can untag yourself and try to control the possible damage from embarrassing stuff popping up, but there's really no way to stop it all. You may not have active tags on Facebook, but that doesn't mean that photo won't still exist and won't show up elsewhere. When people are constantly contributing information to Facebook, as well as other parts of the web, you're always stuck playing catch up if you're trying to control how others talk about you.

This is why you need to contribute public information. If you don't, you're providing no information about who you are. If you don't post anything, everyone else determines what you look like to a stranger who searches for your name. In a job search, this can be pretty problematic. The first results can be embarrassing. If you share a name with someone else, their results may come up instead. You put yourself at risk by not contributing positive information about yourself.

The Solution Is Simple: Publicly Post What You Want Others to See

It's fine to keep most of what you post on Facebook pretty private and only visible to the friends you want to see it. That said, if you want to look good in public you should be posting a few things that make you appear like the upstanding citizen you believe yourself to be. Share photos from fun family events, opinions about a gadget you really love or hate, and tame messages like regular birthday wishes. There are plenty of things you can share in public that don't reveal anything private but show that you're a good person. When a prospective employer "stumbles" upon your Facebook page, they'll see the good stuff you want to share and be more likely to miss out on the embarrassing stuff your friends (or enemies) may have lurking elsewhere online.

This can be easier said than done. Facebook has some pretty intimidating privacy settings, but we explain them all here. Be sure to read that guide if you don't know how to manage your privacy settings in a way that allows you to be selective about what is private and what you'll let the world see.

Title photo by Ilya Andriyanov (Shutterstock). The silly pictures of Whitson are all me.

The "tell me about yourself" job interview question isn't just a warm up question, but, as with the other questions, a chance to sell yourself as the perfect candidate for the job. Prepare your best answer with this three-part statement approach.

The Personal Branding Blog recommends you craft your answer to include a summary of your career history (one sentence), an example of one career accomplishment (one or two sentences), and a summary of what you want next in your career that's relevant to the position at hand (one or two sentences).

Here's the example given:

"I am a chemical engineer with eight years of experience, four which were in process engineering at Clorox working on improving plant productivity and four in specialty resin chemical sales where I help customers develop new products that improve their competitiveness in the marketplace. (Part One)

"Recently, through networking, I learned of a company that had great products except for their concrete coating line. I knew that we had a resin that would enable the company to develop a faster drying concrete coating, thereby improving the company's ability to compete more effectively in their marketplace. I called on the decision-makers, got their interest, worked with R&D and helped them develop a product line that resulted in $2 million in new sales for the company in the first year, which meant $400K in new sales for us. (Part Two)

"For the next step in my career, I would like to be with a larger firm with more resources so that I can continue to drive business and grow sales for both the company and my customers in a wider variety of applications. Once I have proven myself and earned the right to get promoted, I would like to use my skills to lead and develop a sales team." (Part Three)

Note that the answer is targeted to the job, not a personal biography—because hiring managers don't really care where you grew up. What matters most is how you'll contribute to the company.

Beware the "Tell Me About Yourself" Job Interview Question! | Personal Branding Blog

Photo by Ambrophoto

Millennial Branding and Experience Inc. surveyed 225 employers to find out what's most important to them when they hire students or others for entry-level jobs. "Soft skills" like communication and teamwork were ranked even higher than education, and almost all employers said students should have at least one internship before they graduate.

An internship can be a great way to get a job, especially if you have no relevant experience. 91% of the employers surveyed said students should have between one and two internships under their belt, and those internships should be at least three months. 82% of the employers said they hire interns for full-time positions, although half of them haven't hired interns in the last six months.

However, keep in mind that relevant courses and recommendations matter more than internship experience. GPA doesn't seem to matter as much though.

If you're looking for an entry-level job, be sure to brush up on your communication skills and prepare to demonstrate your positive attitude, adaptability, and teamwork skills. Think of examples from past experience that can show off those critical skills.

Here's all the survey data in infographic form (click to expand or right-click to save):

Soft skills still outweigh education in entry-level hires: infographic | Econsultancy

Microsoft Word's red and green squiggles suggesting spelling and grammar corrections don't look great on a resume. Even if you click "ignore" to get rid of those lines, they'll still show up when others open the doc. Prevent this from happening with Word's document protection.

Reddit user Kevspace2 offers this tip for making your resume look more professional. When you make a document read only, it preserves the formatting and gets rid of all the squiggly lines. That includes Word's mistaken advice to correct your name, company names, and fragments in your resume.

Of course, if your potential employer allows PDF resumes, you should send a PDF version instead, but this tip is helpful for those employers who demand a Word doc. Go to Tools > Protect Document > Read Only for a squiggly-free resume.

LPT: Use "Protect Document" command in Word to make sure your resume looks professional | Reddit

Sample resume snippet from About Job Search