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Bright blue hair and a nose ring, not really appropriate in many environments, especially corporate world.

Again, you are absolutely, 100% correct in this statement. Now, answer me this: Are you completely, 100% sure this gal would have shown up with blue hair, or is there a chance she may have showed up with normal color hair and piercings removed?

My buddy had to get rid of his ear gauges when he started working more professionally.

Your buddy sounds like he's got a lot in common with the blue haired gal. Also sounds like it turned out that he's responsible about it like the majority of us professionals who both work hard and play hard.

However, many of the candidates he mentioned had FaceBooks full of profanity, hating Mondays (their job), and a lot more than just an odd appearance.

Hmmmm, let's see....I have a bad habit of cussing like a sailor, but I reserve that for the non-professional environment. The profanity is put on the shelf when I walk in the door to work, and has never been an issue for me in the professional setting. As it happens, I also hate Mondays with a passion (that has NOTHING to do with how I feel about my job) and most of my bosses tend to agree. The fact is, anyone in their right mind would rather do anything but work, but because we are responsible adults, we deal with it and do what we must.

Overall, I'd say he was successful in not wasting time bringing several of those people in.

You may be completely correct on this. You may also be completely wrong, and he could very well be passing up on the best candidate his company has seen in some time. Reagan was a democrat and had some slightly liberal ideas. He turned out pretty awesome.

“Are you completely, 100% sure this gal would have shown up with blue hair, or is there a chance she may have showed up with normal color hair and piercings removed”

This makes my point. There is a VERY good chance she would have shown up looking normal and I would have hired her, only to discover later on who I had hired and probably suffer the consequences of hiring someone like that.

An interview and resume are more of the often false advertising “cover” on the book. FaceBook is more about what’s inside.

Now, answer me this: Are you completely, 100% sure this gal would have shown up with blue hair, or is there a chance she may have showed up with normal color hair and piercings removed?

I didn't say she would have, and my post further mentioned she wasn't near as bad as the profanity-laced posters. First impressions matter, and Facebook now takes that opportunity away from your first interview. She may have shown up normal, and been a good asset. But when you are trying to hire 1-2 people, and are going through 100s of applications, why take that chance? What if she did show up with neon blue hair? Starbucks, hire her. Office setting? Pretty much a waste of time for both her and the interviewer. If I can weed the stack down to only a couple people, that makes my job much easier. I don't want to waste time on people who give me reason to pause.

I have a bad habit of cussing like a sailor, but I reserve that for the non-professional environment. The profanity is put on the shelf when I walk in the door to work, and has never been an issue for me in the professional setting.

And do you post all sorts of profanities on publicly available websites? Many pictures and comments that make you sound and look like an ignorant asshole? Would your company appreciate it much if you did? I use plenty of profanity in life and at work, but when it comes to a client or management, I keep it much cleaner. And I almost never post an profanities on Facebook, on the rare times I log in, maybe once every 2-3 months. Facebook is, essentially, your first interview, and the same way you don't want to be cussing in front of the interviewer, you should probably keep your Facebook decently clean too.

As it happens, I also hate Mondays with a passion (that has NOTHING to do with how I feel about my job) and most of my bosses tend to agree.

True, but what would your company do if you started trashing them in a public domain? I don't like my job (management mainly), but I don't throw that out on sites that can get me in trouble with my job, not to mention it's not good advertising for the company. Why would you hire someone who trashes the company they work for? Why would they stop doing it just because you hired them?

You may also be completely wrong, and he could very well be passing up on the best candidate his company has seen in some time.

Yup, but when you're trying to save time, you can't be checking every candidate for the perfect match. You have to weed out the ones that show signs of not being a good fit, and I'm sure some of the better-appearing choices will turn out to be a decent fit.