The Office for Student Engagement and Office of Career Services welcomed students to evaluate their social media image on Monday evening in the War Memorial Student Union, Rm. 223 through the “What’s Your Brand? Effectively Marketing Yourself to Employers” seminar.
Featuring a presentation including examples of positive and negative usage of social networking, the program also introduced statistics of the percentages of employers and recruiters who use social media as a tool in the hiring process, tips to reconstruct and maintain a positive presence online and insight into the world of recruiters and hiring managers. Hammond Target Recruiter Stephanie Miller was in attendance to share her input and personal experiences.
The interactive workshop prompted participants to think about their image and evaluate the content produced on their personal online accounts, how the information presented is perceived by outsiders and privacy settings.
Participants proved Facebook to be the most popular social networking site, with only two individuals in attendance indicating that they did not have an account. One-third of the students present admitted to having a Twitter account. While Facebook was the primary preference among students attending the program, several other social networking sites were covered including Linked In, Pinterest and Instagram.
Keri Truitt, assistant director of career services, encouraged the use of social media with the consistency of a positive image online throughout all outlets of social media to build a strong professional network.
“It’s important to start taking a good look at it now, and if there’s anything that you have on your page that your mom wouldn’t approve of, you probably shouldn’t have it on there to begin with because employers may go back to research even further than a few months,” said Truitt. “You can’t start too early to clean it up, and you might be surprised at what is acceptable and what is not acceptable. That is your brand; that is who you are.”
During the program, presenters also covered tips to create effective resumes and cover letters, in addition to interviewing practices and proper attire.
“As a recruiter, I don’t want you to stand out because of your wardrobe,” said Miller. “I want to remember you for what’s on your resume and what you have to say. If you have something on your resume, be prepared to talk about it.”
Although the program provided ample information, students were encouraged to take advantage of the resources provided by the Office of Career Services.  
“I thought it was very informative,” said Hillory Cowart, junior communications major with a concentration in public relations.  “They touched on Linked In, which I thought was really good because a lot of people don’t understand what Linked In does, and that’s something that, like they said, is a live resume. They’re [employers] going to reference social media no matter what.”
The Office of Career Services will host 40 to 50 employers at the upcoming Summer Jobs and Internships Fair on Tuesday, April 15. To review information, upcoming events and resources offered by the Offices of Career Services, visit the university website at www. selu.edu/career.