A few months ago, I went to Grove City College (my alma matter) to talk to a group of about 50 computer science students during an ACM meeting. I offered some brief remarks about what I did for a living (very brief.) Then we had a really interesting hour plus interactive discussion where I instigated some of the early topics by throwing out some themes I thought would be interesting.

We talked for quite some time about how social media was changing the job applicant process. While I was more focused on the positive things they could do, I also mentioned they need to pay attention to what stupid negative things they could be doing online.

One specific thing I encouraged them not to do was put pictures or other media on their Facebook or other social network profile pages that are in anyway unprofessional. (Note: I wasn’t implying it should all be professional, but at least keep in mind professional contacts will be looking at it.)

Today, Nick ONeill’s excellent All Facebook blog published a report from NPR on a survey Career Builder just released which states:

one in five employers check Facebook profiles when researching a potential job candidate. Additionally, one third of those that checked Facebook found a reason to reject an applicant due to photos with alcohol or drugs.

(Here is the link to the NPR audio)

If you aren’t conscious of your online brand — now is the time to start regardless of what phase of life you’re in.