On her Facebook, Taelor Fowler is pictured doing the “Nae Nae”.
When she’s fed up with school, Kaylin Herzer tweets explicit language such as “F school I just want to sleep.” to her followers.
Aimee Miller posts outings such as dressing up as the Three Blind Mice with friends on Instagram.
While those seemingly innocuous college pranks and postings aren’t exactly criminal enterprises, they are recorded history that would not bode well for students if a prospective employer saw them, which could have a dramatic impact on employability, especially since an increasing number of companies are asking candidates to reveal their social network posts.
“Employers make a mental note about what students do because it can be difficult to get employed,” said Elsie Boucek, Career Counselor at Point Park University.
On the plus side, social networking helps students develop a professional relationship with other professionals, which is also great when looking for jobs. It also helps the employers to locate well-qualified people.
Fowler, a forensic science major at Point Park, shared a picture of herself taking part in the “Nae Nae” with a group of friends. The “Nae Nae” is a dance move where people put one hand in the air and rock left and right with their bodies. When it comes to employers noticing, “I can take it off [because] it’s kind of shady,” Fowler said.
In addition to dancing the night away, there’s the use of foul language. This normally what occurs on Herzer’s Twitter account prior to anything else she has to voice. The possibility of being seen doesn’t distress the student, “I’m positive everyone has sworn before and I’m not hurting anyone.” Herzer said.
Miller celebrated Halloween last weekend and posted a group picture of herself and two others decked out in all black, in outfits consisting of a dress, mouse ears, sunglasses, knee high stockings, heels, and of course a cane. She understand that her posts may have an impact no her job search.
“You may not get the job and they might look at you as a bad person,” Miller said.
Even though there’s an option to make accounts private, not everyone does. “I don’t because I’m aware that employees check because of my major.” said Lynell Ogletree, who studies intelligence and national security.
“I’m a broadcast major and I know better,” Tim Hardy said.
Aside from being responsible with their accounts, there are the students that really don’t take part in social media that much and are cautious. “The job I work at was going to look at our twitter and Instagram accounts and it scared me,” said Malory Gerst, a freshman who works at Giant Eagle Located at Kennedy Township.
When it comes to establishing the difference between the tainted and clear profiles, there’s always the option of going to The Career Development Center located in Lawrence Hall. There are Linked-In workshops available that offer students the chance to make sure their accounts are professional and show skills that are needed. “Once you create a profile, add stuff in as you go along little by little.” Elsie Boucek, School of Communication counselor, said.
