Social Networking Sites and the College Grad

Companies that are recruiting on college campuses are using online resources like Google and Yahoo to do background checks on students looking for jobs or internships. Additionally, some recruiters are checking up on applicants on social networking sites like MySpace, Facebook and Friendster or video sites like YouTube.

Despite all the stories, college students continue to jeopardize their future career success, by posting personal photographs or comments about "partying". Many college students still think these online videos are innocent expressions which are private and without long term ramifications.

Alan Finder in the article titled "For Some, Online Persona Undermines a Résumé" quotes career center professionals from Wesleyan and NYU.

-Michael Sciola, director of the career resource center at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Conn, says "It's a growing phenomenon...There are lots of employers that Google. Now they've taken the next step.

-Trudy G. Steinfeld, executive director of the center for career development, at New York University said that recruiters from about 30 companies told career counselors that they were looking at the sites for students.

Many of the corporate recruiters are saying that a negative online persona is making students look "immature and unprofessional, at best."

Here's a podcast for students seeking advice on social networking sites from the Center for Career & Professional Development at the Fox School of Business at Temple University.

Job Hunting On The Net | Length: 12:36 minutes
KYW's Hadas Kuznits speaks with Corinne Snell with Fox School's Center for Student Professional Development about job hunting through social networking sites on the internet.