It's a fact that online profiles can make or break a user's future job prospects. Since the beginning of the Internet, many stories have circulated regarding employees who were fired 'for posting their unvarnished opinions online,' or job candidates who were refused a second interview because of tacky vacation photos published on a social network somewhere. On the other hand, an online profile demonstrating 'integrity, insight and maturity' can become a user's best asset in establishing or maintaining a professional career. Outplacement consultant Challenger, Gray & Christmas CEO John Challenger said recruiters regularly surf Facebook for likely candidates, which is not as unruly a website as MySpace. Recruiters consider LinkedIn even more professional than Facebook, because it enables users to post resumes and connect with other users' networks. Nowadays, most recruiters use LinkedIn instead of traditional proprietary databases. But CEO and senior-level recruiting company Russell Reynolds Associates believes the social websites are 'just part of a larger online identity.' The company's head of the Americas technology sector, Tuck Rickards, said people can find their online footprint by entering their own name into a search engine, then compose 'a nice profile' by leveraging the 'random bits of digital data' that result from the name search. CollegeRecruiter.com founder Steven Rothberg agrees that Facebook and MySpace are open opportunities to present a certain professional image. About 75 percent of employers use Google for background research on candidates. For example, a long list of contacts indicates the candidate is able to cultivate professional relationships. People willing to discuss their personal lives and everything online, however, might alarm a company seeking a discretionary ability to share selective information only.