As the spring semester moves along, so does the process of applying or locking in an internship or first career. Both students at UW-Whitewater and other regional schools are applying for the same positions. With all these different applicants’ vying for these positions, companies will be meticulously reviewing every applicant to see who fits best with their company.

One of the emerging qualifications that companies are starting to look at is good behavior from employees on social media. Career Builder, a career assistance company, surveyed 1,000 hiring managers and human resource professionals to find out that 70 percent of managers completed social media audits of their candidates to get a sense of what the person is like behind the scenes. 

What college students post on social media could have serious issues on finding a professional job down the line. It does not mean that you have to delete your social media. Deleting your social media accounts could backfire. From an article in the Business News Daily, about half of employers – 47 percent– said they wouldn’t call a person for an interview if they cant find them online. It helps companies and businesses gather more information on the candidate. 

“It’s safe to assume that employers are going to Google-search you, look up your LinkedIn profile and check out your social posts to get a feel for your personality, disposition and temperament,” said Karen Whalen, UW-W marketing lecturer. 

Whalen, also mentioned that she likes to “see evidence of healthy relationships, desire to work and learn, patience, positive attitude, creativity, willingness to try new things, social responsibility and balance,” on perspective hires social media platforms. 

Although the internet could hold things that may not look the best towards your potential employment, it can be used as a positive place to promote your professional and creative personality to your friends and potential employers.

“Hiring managers and HR professionals can get a sense of the ‘tone’ of posts made by an individual and can assess whether that individual has any questionable or inappropriate posts that might provide a different side of the candidate from what they saw in an interview,” said Debra Janssen a Financial Services advocate. “Candidates can come across polished in an interview but then on social media show a totally different personality.”

According to the survey done by Career Builder, there are things that employers will be excited to see once they head to your social media account. For instance, if a profile was creative and conveyed a professional image, 33 percent of the managers hired the employee based on those things. 

Social media is a big part of life today. According too Pew Research Center a non-profit organization in Washington D.C, said that 69 percent of U.S. adults are now social media users, proving that users are at job searching age.