While Facebook hasn’t rolled out “Timeline” for businesses yet, it is now available to all users.  With that in mind, professionals need to make sure they’re putting their best foot forward and using their personal Timeline to their advantage.

“Timeline isn’t just something you need to protect yourself from, however; it’s a great way to let people know about your business and its history.” – PCWorld

We would bet that most, if not all, Facebook users have at least one post on their wall that they wouldn’t want their bosses, co-workers, or potential employers to see.  That’s why one of the first steps that a user may want to take is checking the privacy settings on all posts.  Nobody wants one overlooked Facebook post to be the reason for professional backlash.

Timeline can be a great way for a professional to promote their business, or for career-seeking individuals to promote themselves.  By showing off relevant news and events, like grand openings and launch parties, a business owner can highlight their company in new ways.  For those seeking careers, the Timeline is a great way to highlight skills and interests in a new format for potential employers.

One important feature on the Timeline that you won’t want to overlook is the ability to view as one of your friends — or even as the public views it.  This allows fully customization of your Timeline to display only what you want to show to certain lists and friends.  This takes away the guessing game on whether or not certain people can see certain things, allowing you to still share with friends, but stay out of hot water in a professional setting.

The Timeline feature can be a great tool to increase your professional reputation online. All that’s  needed is a steadfast eye to monitor what you display to the world.