I have a friend who recently broke up with her man.  It was easy to recognize the angst in the first post, the status update implying that something important in her life had just gone away. It’s what been happening in the weeks and months after that has intrigued me. She has been bombarding Twitter and Facebook with selfies, in various states of undress. It’s not X-rated, but it’s not for the kids either.

I’ll admit to noticing, but obviously only for the purposes of research.

This behavior informed a couple of theories: she’s probably not over the ex, she’s talking to him through the photos, and she’s looking for validation from her digital friends, the affirmation from her girls that she is still indeed fabulous.

There’s a reason we posted that meme/status update/photo/video we did. Our brains made a series of little decisions before hitting the post button. Here are the things that go through our heads before we decide to publish: Here’s the dangerous takeaway: too many selfies show recruiters you are either a little too much in love with yourself, or maybe you’ve broken up with a girlfriend/boyfriend.

And this should also be mentioned – the inverse is also true – if your profiles have nothing but pics of your kids and none of you…

The judgments made before you’re called into the hiring manager’s office happen after thorough analysis of your LinkedIn and other social platforms. The smart ones know who you are before they even meet you, and they aren’t interested in taking a risk with a King or Queen of the Selfie.

John Scott is an instructor and the career services manager for the School of Multimedia Communications, Academy of Art University San Francisco.

His latest book: “You. Employed – why winners get jobs”          @johnscottsf