According to a recent study conducted by Careerbuilder.com, nearly 37 percent of companies use social networking websites to research job candidates, and even more said they plan to start doing so in the near future.

Companies have begun to hire professionals to evaluate candidates’ character and personality via their personal social networking sites over the course of the past several years.

Mark Fauble, assistant director for the ISU Career Center, said he has seen statistics that say approximately 80 percent of employers currently do online searches of candidates and he suspects that number will continue to rise.

Fauble said companies utilize social media in order to access information that is not available on a standard résumé and to find out more about possible candidates. 

“Companies spend an incredible amount of time, money, and energy when bringing in a new employee,” Fauble said. “They want to know as much as possible about their candidates in order to make the best decision.”

Most employers can see if a candidate has the technical skills to do a job on their résumé, but they do not know if they will be a good fit for their particular organization, Fauble added.

Fauble does not think the way a person is portrayed via social networking sites accurately represents their professionalism.

“There are sites, like LinkedIn, that are designed to exhibit students in a very professional manner,” Fauble explained. “Unfortunately, many students are active on Facebook and Twitter, which are designed to be social in nature. These platforms generally do not encourage professionalism.”

“With the help of social media they can now go beyond the résumé to see if you are the right fit for their work environment,” Fauble explained. 

Fauble said savvy students should have the ability to completely protect their online identity.

Suzy Baker Bachman, assistant director of the ISU Career Center, said students preparing to graduate and enter the workforce should set their privacy setting at the highest level.

“If a student has an account that does not represent them in the most professional way, I recommend locking down their privacy settings so that no one can access them,” Baker Bachman added.

“What students don’t understand is that once they post something on the Internet, it is always there even if they delete it,” Bachman said.

“Everything on the Internet is archived. Content is still located on Internet archives even if it is deleted,” she added.

Bachman explained employers have the ability to access information their candidates have posted on their networking sites in the past.

“I advise students to make sure their accounts do not represent them in an unattractive light and displaying behaviors that would not be appealing in the workplace,” Bachman added.

Fauble encourages students to create a LinkedIn account and use it as their professional profile and networking tool.

“Finally, students should Google their name because they could be very surprised to see what pops up,” Fauble added.

Fauble and Bachman think companies will begin and continue to use social networking sites to determine if their candidates are good fits for their organization because a person is a lot more than what meets the eye in their résumés.