With the abundance of parties, alcohol and newfound freedom the college experience can be great fodder for Facebook pictures and Twitter updates that would make mothers everywhere scream.

According to statistics, however, any social media content that could drive your mother crazy could also deter potential employers.

“Ninety percent of recruiters and hiring managers have visited a potential candidate’s profile on a social network as part of the screening process,” said Keri Truitt, assistant director of Career Services. “A recent survey commissioned by Microsoft found that 70 percent of recruiters and hiring managers in the United States have rejected an applicant based on information they found online.”

Students would be wise to think twice about posting vulgar, distasteful or offensive content on social media websites. Any questionable updates or photographs have the potential to jeopardize a job opportunity.

According to Truitt some common reasons that employers may reject applicants based on social media content include: inappropriate photos, inappropriate posts (using vulgar language or very poor grammar), comments about drugs or alcohol, negative comments about employer or school or discriminatory comments.

Ken Ridgedell, director of Career Services, also notes that asserting strong opinions regarding controversial subjects may also put an applicant in the danger zone with many employers.

“Posts that indicate a strong or perhaps radical political or religious position, and posts that project a heavy sexual or ‘party’ culture, such as lots pictures of people intoxicated or high, are usually viewed as yellow, or even red, flags for most employers,” said Ridgedell.     

When cleaning up social media profiles for the sake of professionalism, a helpful tip is to make sure every post is “mom-friendly.” Students may want to start by Googling themselves in order to see what information a potential employer might find by searching his or her name. Simplewash is an app that can identify inappropriate words and content on a social media account. Once inappropriate content is removed, students can then work on creating an online profile that works to a professional advantage.

“Focus on your positives or strengths (i.e., well-organized, strong leadership skills, good interpersonal communication skills, etc.),” said Ridgedell. “You may also want to think about and share things about your likes (not so much your dislikes), hobbies and/or interests — all of which are generally healthy and non-offensive.”  

A few mistakes in one’s social media past will probably not obliterate any and all potential of employment, so long as one has evolved and matured throughout their years of Internet use.

“Even if you have not done a good job with managing your social media content in the past, it is never too late to start,” said Ridgedell. “I do think most employers realize that high school students will be high school students and that college students will be college students, and, as a result, do expect to see a certain amount of ‘crazy’ things on their social media accounts.  However, most employers will also expect to see some evolution, progression, maturation and development on the part of college students.”

Both Ridgedell and Truitt agree that, in the professional world, students should view themselves as a “brand.” It is one’s own responsibility to market themselves to employers, and social media is a major outlet for such marketing. Content displayed on public profiles can become the deciding factor in an employer’s hiring decision, and in today’s competitive environment every advantage is needed when searching for a career.