By Vanessa Tostes

You may want to think twice before posting your next status update on your Facebook page – especially if you are in the market for a new job.

More and more companies are using Facebook as background check for new hires.  According to Dan Schawbel, personal branding expert and author of Me 2.0, Facebook is not only a social media engine, but also a reputation branding engine.  Today, 53% of companies are using Facebook as background check, that is, for every other job interview you go to, one of these companies are surely looking at news on what you ate for lunch or what kinds of activities you engaged in last weekend.  Facebook also serves as a catalog of all your wall posts and pictures, which might transfer that information into Google and Yahoo! search engines, depending on your privacy settings.

It is always important to filter what you write on Facebook.  Writing what you had for lunch may not hurt your chances of being hired; however, if you post interesting observations or questions, you are more likely to be viewed positively by a company who is interested in hiring you.