Can people get around the privacy safeguards on Facebook?

A lot of controversy about privacy on Facebook. People used to be told to clean up their pages and photos so that potential employers would not see youthful exuberance or read about your activities, political viewpoints and even those of your friends.
How effective are the safeguards and can potential employers or admissions officers get around the safeguards to view pages.
This question assumes that all privacy options are set either to friends or friends of friends.