If you think just keeping your Facebook page free of drunken photos will help you land a job, think again.

Facebook facts that make you look worldly and popular may say more about you to a hiring manager than anything else. Photos of your trip to Bali; status updates on how much you enjoyed reading “War and Peace”; and thousands of Facebook friends apparently translate into a job candidate who will do better on the job.

At least those are the findings of a new study by a trio of universities that looked at how Facebook profiles predict job success.

“We came up with a Facebook personality score and that correlates with job performance,” said Donald Kluemper, a management professor at Northern Illinois University, who, along with researchers at Auburn University and the University of Evansville, conducted the study that appeared in the recent issue of the Journal of Applied Social Psychology.

The researchers looked at five personality traits among Facebook users, including conscientiousness, emotional stability, agreeableness, extraversion and openness. The traits are known as the “Big Five” in psychological lingo and are often used in organizational studies, Kluemper said.

The Facebook users, 56 total, were given a personality score by independent evaluators and six months later those ratings were compared to evaluations completed by the supervisors who the users worked for. And guess what? The higher the Facebook personality score the higher the job performance rating by supervisors.

So what gets you a high personality rating exactly?

Here’s how Kluemper broke it down:

Conscientiousness: This is someone who appears to be well organized and hard-working, and that’s reflected in the way they set up their Facebook page. Maybe there are a lot of detailed posts and profile, or photos of the person working hard at something.

Emotional stability: You seem to be someone who looks at the glass as half full, and seem able to handle stress. That means your page is lacking lots of negative and down in the dumps type posts; and you’re not overly emotional in images or in what you write.

Agreeableness: This is all about someone who’s able to get along and doesn’t engage in Facebook conflicts, especially heated debates with friends.

Extraversion: Here’s where lots of Facebook friends come in handy because lots of friends is a predictor of extraversion. Also, photos of you in social situations with lots of people are a good thing, compared to pictures of you alone on your couch.

Openness: Travel and intellect play into this category. If you appear open to different experiences and viewpoints, then you’re viewed as open. If you’re posting stuff about classic literature you’ll probably score higher than if you’re dishing about the latest trashy novel. And photos of international travel are also a big plus.

Based on this research, scoring high in all these categories means you’re more likely to be an ideal employee. That kind of predictor would probably make any hiring manager salivate, especially in today’s tough job market where they have to weed through thousands of applicants.

Kluemper is not advocating that HR use his groundbreaking social-media research just yet. “This is one study and the sample size is not that large,” he explained. “A lot more studies need to be done.”

But, he admitted some ill-advised HR folks may try and hang their hats on this one study, and that worries him because using such personality tests could be on sketchy legal grounds.

Red Tape Chronicles: When it comes to online reputation, 'life's not fair, and companies aren't either'

Indeed, personality tests and a host of other pre-employment screenings, including everything from criminal to credit background checks, have come under fire when used in the hiring process because of privacy issues and also because some impact certain groups adversely. Social media sites such as Facebook and LinkedIn have even made the problem biggerbecause so much information is now available online that the job seekers themselves put out there.

“We’re not advocating employers use this technique,” Kluemper said about the Facebook ratings.

Unfortunately, it may be hard to put the Facebook personality cat back in the hiring bag.

And speaking about cats, if you want to put those adorable videos of kittens on your Facebook page - a popular pastime for many users - keep in mind what you may be projecting into cyber space.

Research by University of Texas at Austin psychologist Sam Gosling found that "dog people are more extraverted, more agreeable and more conscientious than self-described cat people."  

TODAY Money expert and msnbc.com senior writer John Schoen joined us for a live web chat Wednesday to talk about the housing market.

Here is John's answer to one of the questions in the chat and a complete archive:

One chat guest asked:

“Good morning John. I am going through a divorce right now and getting ready to refinance the home in my name only. Are there any tips you might recommend or things to watch out for? I am working directly with a mortgage broker because there are so many moving parts.”

John replied:

“I would be more concerned with how the refinance will affect your divorce settlement than with getting the best rate or mortgage terms. That’s the limit of the broker’s expertise. They’re not equipped to give advice on the laws governing marital property, which are different in each state. So I would rely on my attorney for advice about how to refinance and let the broker stick to getting you the best terms.”

If you have a question for our TODAY Money experts, submit it here.

To sign up for an e-mail reminder for our next chat, click here.

There’s a dirty little secret working mothers have been keeping: They’re happy.

A new study found that nearly eight out of ten employed mothers are enjoying being a working parent. So much for the endless talk about working mommy guilt, the mommy track and overloaded mommies.

According to a poll by Care.com, an online caregiver resource, 78 percent of working mothers say they take pleasure in the daily grind; and 50 percent said that their own career serves as a great example for their kids.

“Most love being a great role model for their children and many feel more creative and motivated as a working-parent and even feel they add a better perspective at their jobs now that they are moms," said Katie Bugbee, managing editor of Care.com, which polled 1,000 women with children under 18 last month. (There were about 20 million working mothers with kids under 18 in the United States last year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.)

In more working mommy good news, the study also found that toiling moms seem to be finding the support they need at home; and they have big plans for their career futures.

The study found:

• 77 percent have a spouse or partner who participates in raising the kids.
• 89 percent said their significant other supported their career goals.
• 64 percent said they feel work demands don’t interfere with their ability to be a good parent.
• 58 percent have a goal to move higher in the professional ranks.
• 78 percent said they don’t feel they were passed over for a promotion due to lack of work commitment.
• And 29 percent actually said they fee more productive after becoming a parent.

The findings weren’t all rosy, especially when it comes to childcare.

The study found that nearly three out of four companies where the working moms were employed did not offer childcare benefits. And about 39 percent had to miss work during the year because of childcare issues.

 "This survey makes it clear that much still needs to be done in the workplace to support them in motherhood,” Bugbee said.

Convertible cribs like the DaVinci Emily can be turned into toddler beds, daybeds, and full-size beds as a child grows.

By Kara Reinhardt, Cheapism.com

Celebrity watchers crave even the slightest bit of news on the baby girl born last month to music moguls Beyonce and Jay-Z. No detail is too small, down to reports that she sleeps in an ultramodern Lucite crib with a $3,500 price tag. Lucky for parents without endorsement deals and top-grossing world tours, high-quality cribs can be had for less than $200.

Whether they’re made of transparent acrylic or regular old wood, new cribs must conform to standards set in 2011 by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. The CPSC requires all models to undergo rigorous safety testing and has outlawed traditional drop-side cribs, which let parents lower one of the rails and lift the baby out. On cribs with fixed sides, the height of the mattress can typically be adjusted depending on the age of the child, so it sits highest for a newborn and lowest for an active toddler. If you’re short or have a bad back, more mattress levels can help ensure you’ll be able to reach over the rail to pick up the child.

These days, convertible cribs dominate the market. These 2-in-1, 3-in-1, or 4-in-1 models can be transformed into a toddler bed, daybed, and/or full-size bed as a child grows. They generally don’t cost any more than standard cribs, but most require a separate conversion kit priced at $100 or more. Traditional cribs are becoming far less common, although some parents still prefer them. Maybe you have a nursery that’s too small for a bulky bed or plan to have another child right away. You may prefer to hand down a standard crib and buy the older child a conventional bed.

Few cribs come with mattresses, which can add anywhere from $40 to $150 to the total cost. The standard mattress size of 27 1/4 by 51 5/8 inches works for most cribs, but it’s important to make sure the mattress you choose fits snugly. Test it in a display model at the store or in the assembled crib at home (just be sure you can return it). If two fingers fit in any gaps between the mattress and the sides of the crib, you could be compromising your child’s safety.

Below are Cheapism’s top picks for affordable cribs.

• The DaVinci Emily crib (starting at $180) is a 4-in-1 convertible model with a toddler guardrail and sides that serve as a headboard and a footboard when the crib is turned into a full-size bed. Consumers report that it’s sturdy and easy to put together. It comes with four mattress levels and a one-year warranty. (Where to buy)
• The Baby Relax crib (starting at $169) is a standard crib that’s exclusive to Walmart and comes with a matching dresser. Parents posting reviews like the look of the set and say it’s solidly built. The mattress can be set at four different heights. (Where to buy)
• The Graco Lauren crib (starting at $135) is a 4-in-1 convertible design with three mattress levels. Reviewers praise its stability and easy assembly and appreciate the bargain price from a leading brand. (Where to buy)

More from Cheapism:
Cheap cribs
Cheap cruises
Cheap spring break
Cheap LA restaurants

Managers don’t want to engage in it and employees hate it.

Unfortunately, office politics can’t be avoided.

The good thing is, many workers realize engaging in office politics on some level is an important part of getting ahead.

A survey released this week by staffing firm Robert Half found that 56 percent of employees believe being involved in office politics is necessary to get ahead in your career, compared to 42 percent who said it wasn’t necessary, and 2 percent who don’t know either way.

"There is some degree of politics at play in virtually every organization," said Max Messmer, chairman and CEO of Robert Half International and author of “Managing Your Career For Dummies.” "The savviest professionals practice workplace diplomacy. They remain attuned to political undercurrents but don't allow themselves to get pulled into situations that could compromise their working relationships or reputation."

Becoming attuned to office politics, however, is easier said than done.

“The problem with office politics is that it’s not a science,” maintained Margaret Morford, author of “The Hidden Language of Business – Workplace Politics, Power & Influence.” “It’s very much an art.”

While not engaging in the political goings on at work can hamper your career, she said, making the wrong political maneuvers could kill it.

There are employees who appear to be great at office politics on the surface because they are good manipulators and have no qualms about stepping on people as the climb the ladder of success, she explained. But, she added, that approach creates a lot of enemies and those individuals don’t tend to stay on the ladder.

The same holds true for suck ups, she stressed. “It doesn’t work long term.”

It’s not just the rank and file that must play the political games.

Managers often try to stay out of the political fray when it involves their underlings, but that’s also a dumb idea, according to an article in the Harvard Business Review by the coauthors of “Being the Boss: The 3 Imperatives for Becoming a Great Leader.”

The authors, Linda A. Hill and Kent Lineback, write:

“Unless you reach out, engage others, and create active, ongoing relationships — relationships you sustain even when there's no immediate problem — you will lack the ability to exercise influence beyond your group. And even in your own world, your influence will be limited. If you've ever worked for a boss who lacked any organizational clout or credibility, you know how frustrating that is.”

For those of you who are frustrated just thinking about how to engage in office politics, Morford has some basic advice: Listen more than you talk, and study what’s going on around you, especially when you start out at an organization.

Also, beware of the people that want to give you the lay of the land when you take a job. “Don’t accept the first opinion you get on what’s going on,” she advised, adding that sometimes you get the outlier who doesn’t have a clue on the political environment at an organization.

If you’re still learning the culture or any company, she continued, the best approach is not to challenge coworkers or manager in front of audience, but wait for a private moment and don’t ever say, “you’re wrong.”

There are three ways people end up stalling in their careers or getting fired, said Morford, when it comes to political missteps:

1. You’re organization changed direction and they haven’t figured it out or gotten on board.

2. You’ve run afoul of someone who is powerful.

3. You haven’t built a wide enough network to support you when you make a mistake.

Be sure, she stressed, “to walk softly until you figure it out.”

Many U.S. consumers are so deep in a financial hole that even as the economy begins to turn around they can’t quite dig themselves out.

A survey by Bankrate.com released Tuesday found that 25 percent of Americans have more credit card debt than they have in emergency savings, and that spells trouble if an emergency situation actually hits.

Consumers are doing better when it comes to living within their means, said Greg McBride, Bankrate.com’s senior financial analyst. But, he added, years of stagnant wage growth, high unemployment, declining home values and escalating household expenses have strained wallets. “Even though there’s been progress things are still out of whack,” he said.

And the economic pictures may get even gloomier for consumers if gas prices continue to escalate, he pointed out. Last year, he said, “60 percent of Americans said they cut back on discretionary spending because of gasoline prices.”

Those hit hardest when it comes to debt versus savings, are individuals on the low end of the economic ladder and those with less education, according to the study that polled more than 1000 adults earlier this month.

Here are some of the findings:

• 70 percent of those earning $75,000-plus have more in savings than credit card debt vs. 40 percent of those earning less than $30,000 per year.
• 64 percent of college grads have more in savings than in credit card debt vs. 46 percent with a high school education or less.
• 27 percent of Americans report a lower level of financial security now versus one year ago and 24 percent report a higher level.
• 38 percent of Americans are less comfortable with their savings now compared with one year ago; only 14 percent are more comfortable.

The overall percentage of consumers who have more emergency savings than credit card debt actually inched up to 54 percent of those polled, compared to 52 percent in the same month last year. But that doesn’t mean people are necessarily more debt adverse.

“They can’t go spend money they don’t have,” McBride explained, because credit is so tight today, particularly when it comes to consumers who don’t have the best credit ratings.

A bad credit rating can also create a double whammy for those people looking for jobs because some employers now use credit reports when evaluating job candidates. That’s even worse news for individuals trying to pay off debt.

High amounts of debt and thin savings have become a fixture in U.S. society. “Over the years, the savings’ needle hasn’t moved,” he said. “From 2007 and 2011, the percentage of Americans with three months worth of expenses in savings, which is not adequate, is unchanged.”

It’s something we may be used to, he maintained, but “it’s not a recipe for people having a warm and fuzzy feeling about their financial situation.”

Getty Images file

Whole Foods saw customer satisfaction increase in the past year, according to a new survey.

We’ve been hearing a lot of potentially positive news about the economy lately, and that may be trickling down to the grocery store level.

A new survey finds that even though food prices are going up, Americans are more satisfied than they were a year ago with upscale grocer Whole Foods and less satisfied with discount giant Wal-Mart.

The American Customer Satisfaction Index, an ongoing study of people’s shopping preferences, said Whole Foods’ customer satisfaction rose slightly in the past year, continuing an upward trend. It’s the nation's second most beloved major grocery, after Publix.

Wal-Mart, on other hand, saw customer satisfaction fall. It’s the least popular of the major grocers in the survey.

David VanAmburg, managing director of the ACSI, said that in general people tend to favor quality over price – except when we experience a downturn as we did with the Great Recession.

“When the economy tanks, people are thinking more about, ‘How can I stretch my dollar as much as possible?’” VanAmburg said.

As the tepid recovery has picked up steam, shoppers appear to be starting to look again at factors such as store cleanliness, checkout lines and quality of produce, VanAmburg said.

“Things have improved enough that customers are looking more for quality. They’re looking for that combination of good quality and good price,” VanAmburg said.

Consumer prices jumped in January, thanks in part to high gas prices, and food prices were up slightly. But the nation’s unemployment rate fell to 8.3 percent last month, one of a growing number of signs that brighter days are coming.

A separate poll from Pew Research Center found that people are more optimistic about the economy than they were even two months ago.

In periods such as this, when the economy is showing improvement and prices are rising, upscale chains like Whole Foods have more tools available, VanAmburg said.

The store, which some call “Whole Paycheck” for its high prices, can offer promotional deals or tout its private label 365 Everyday Value line, which may make people feel better about shopping there. That can build on what people already think of as a positive shopping experience, he said.

Wal-Mart, on the other hand, is largely known for being low-cost, and that can make it harder for the chain to find other ways to attract customers when food prices are rising, VanAmberg said.

Wal-Mart has said it is making a major effort to keep costs down. In its most recent earnings call in November, the company acknowledged that rising food prices are an issue for its core customers and that it was trying to absorb some price increases.

Wal-Mart spokeswoman Sarah Spencer said she couldn’t comment specifically on the ACSI study because she hadn’t seen it. But she said the company works hard to please customers with such efforts as helping people choose healthy foods and sourcing more food locally.

“We survey more than half a million customers every month, and they are telling us they are pleased with their shopping experience at our stores and clubs. We continue to work to meet and succeed our customers' expectations by offering them low prices on fresh and packaged food,” she said in an email.

The American Customer Satisfaction Index is based on interviews with about 70,000 customers annually, gauging opinions on  several different industries.

COMMENTARY

Your privacy is gone, and it's never coming back.

A report that Target accidentally disclosed a teen girl's pregnancy to her father shows the logical extreme to which retailers can take the search for more information about their customers.

This is what happens when you hand the cashier at your local drug store or grocery store any of a zillion plastic reward cards. Sure you get discounts, coupons or cash back. But you also hand over information that allows the retailer to create a complete personality profile based on your shopping habits.

That is what apparently happened to an unidentified high school girl who Target identified as pregnant from her pattern of purchases. According to a story in the New York Times Magazine, the girl's father complained about a mailer sent to her featuring ads for maternity clothing and other items that might be needed by a mother-to be. The father complained to Target about the "error" but soon discovered that Target knew his teenage daughter was pregnant before he did!

In one way there is nothing unethical about Target and other retailers trying to encourage customer loyalty by offering discounts to those willing to scan their card every time they go through the checkout lines. After all, you have to sign up for the card. You have to decide to pull it out whenever the cashier asks if you have a loyalty card. And you are responsible for reading, as I just did for the very first time, the privacy policies of retailers and consumer-product companies such as Dunkin' Donuts, Cabela's, Budweiser and Bayer.

I picked those four since consumers might not necessarily want others to know about their shopping habits when it comes to items like fattening food, weapons, alcoholic beverages or birth control pills. While each company promises to protect your personal information it is not clear that their promotions or rebates might not alert someone else that you like nothing better than a weekend of donuts, firearms, beer and making whoopee. Moreover, there is nothing to prevent the data they have on you from being sold to other companies that might buy them. Nor is it really clear what steps they take to protect your identity or to minimize the accidental release of information.

You don’t have to be paranoid to be concerned that privacy left the building long ago. In an electronic era of credit cards, loyalty cards, online banking and website cookies, information about your shopping and browsing habits moves at the speed of light. As soon as you do anything, someone else knows. Retailers and advertisers might know things about you before your family and closest friends do. And the outfit you trust to protect your data can in the blink of an eye be in the hands of another that you may not.

There is little you can do to prevent this.  Still, retailers owe it to us to do a better job of protecting our privacy. In tough economic times, the vast majority of  consumers will easily sacrifice a bit of privacy to save a few dollars. But as the story of the father, Target and the maternity ads should make very clear, that sacrifice comes at a  price that is poorly understood and can be quite high.

We should not allow our ability to control who knows what about us to be crushed under a mountain of privacy pledges, security policies and confidentiality riders that are not worth the unread websites and disclosure forms they appear on.  If privacy is to have any future in an age of sophisticated marketing and consumer purchase monitoring it will need far more attention from consumers and regulators.

Discuss this on Facebook.

 Arthur Caplan, Ph.D., is a professor in the Department of Medical Ethics and Health Policy  at the University of Pennsylvania.

Ron Levine / Getty Images stock

The New York Times reports on what retailers know about your reproductive habits.

Your favorite big-box retailer may know you’re having a baby before you tell some of your friends and family.

New York Times reporter Charles Duhigg reports this week that Target has gone to great lengths to identify which of its customers are about to have a baby, based on the items they start putting in their cart.

The newspaper said the big-box retailer did a detailed analysis of its customers' shopping habits and found out which products they were more likely to buy as they were preparing for a new baby. That allowed them to get a head start on other retailers who may start marketing to Mom and Dad after the bundle of joy is born.

Why would that be important? Duhigg said new parents are a retailer’s dream customer because that’s a point in time when people’s shopping habits may change, so it’s a good time to snag that customer.

However, the reporter said the plan initially appeared to work too well. Duhigg recounts how one irate dad came into a local Target complaining because his teenager daughter had received coupons for baby products.

Turns out, what Dad didn’t know is that his daughter was pregnant.

Duhigg said the company changed its model somewhat, incorporating baby-related coupons in with other ones so it wasn’t quite as obvious that the parents-to-be were having their baby bump marketed to.

Duhigg notes that other companies also are taking great pains to understand their customers better, but the Times’ report focused heavily on Target.

Target told the Times that some of his reporting was inaccurate but declined to offer specific complaints.

In a statement e-mailed to msnbc.com, Target spokeswoman Stacia Smith said the company is focused on delivering great value and relevant offers, and also respecting shoppers' privacy and operating with integrity.

“Like many companies, we use research tools that help us understand guest shopping trends and preferences so that we can give our guests offers and promotions that are relevant to them. Guests are always welcome to opt out of our marketing programs,” Smith said in the statement.

People who worked more than 11 hours a day are more were more than twice as likely to be depressed than their co-workers who put in an 8-hour day.

"There has to be different outlets of enjoyment in a person's life," said Mabel Lopez, a clinical psychologist.

It's a three-day weekend for many Americans. Get out there and unwind.