Springfield, Ohio — We’ve all heard the questions on our breaks home from school or after a long semester away at college as we finally reunite with extended family – “How is school?” “What are your plans after you graduate?” “Grad school, eh?”

Although seemingly harmless if you are among the millions of college students such as myself who just completed a weeklong boot camp of relentless papers and exams, these questions haunt you with undeniable anxiety. I often have to catch myself and rehearse the most polite ways to answer these questions. In all honesty, most of us 18-to-22-year olds do not really know for sure what we want to do.

Of course, there are ideas, goals and aspirations, but they all seem to be so far off from practicality, and most of the time cannot be summed up with a simple answer. But fear not, recent grads and incoming seniors, your dream career could be closer than you think. With the right marketing tools and strategies, you could be an active career-driven adult in no time.

There are several important things to remember as you transition from college life to adulthood. In this extreme digital age we live in, it’s important when in the job market, to evaluate your web presence as many future employers can and will check out your social media profiles and posts.

Companies actually look at social media. Sure, it’s okay to express your opinion on issues you are passionate about, but take into consideration that companies you apply to may have a different opinion.

“Employers absolutely consider the content you put on your Facebook page when considering you for a position,” said Wendy Smiseck, director of Wittenberg’s Career Services. “Even your political/social issues could play a role. Make sure that your posts are encompassing of unification rather than division. An instant opinion could be made about you from certain posts on Facebook.”

“There are many ways to establish an online presence other than through social media,” Smiseck added. “With the increasing use of technologies by employers, some recent grads and others have developed alternative ways to showcase their talents and experiences online. One of these ways is through the resume-building website.”

Resume-building websites are resources to showcase an online portfolio of the work pertaining to the employment you are seeking. Some examples of host providers include Dreamhost, HostGator and GoDaddy. All offer simple and easy domain registration and Wordpress installations. With Wordpress installed as the content management system, a user can select from any number of available "themes" to customize the appearance of a site. Skilled users could alter the template itself at a code level; however, even novice users can navigate through the process by adjusting preferences built into the themes, such as color schemes, layouts, etc.

But just how important is it to have an online portfolio?

“Creating an entire website dedicated to your resume may only be necessary depending on the job you are seeking,” Smiseck said. “Graphic design or art majors for example have much to gain from building personalized websites. A business major does not necessarily have to provide a creative approach to garner a job.”

Instead, Smiseck said that one of the most popular ways to market yourself today is through the social networking service LinkedIn.

“I think there has always been opportunity for recent grads to benefit immensely from utilizing LinkedIn,” said Shelly Gregory, Wittenberg class of 2014, product engagement specialist at LinkedIn. “When you understand the recruitment process for jobs post-grad, you understand that recruiters utilize tools like Google and LinkedIn to look up potential candidates, and having a LinkedIn profile helps recruiters learn about you easily and efficiently. Anything you can do to make the job easier for a recruiter is going to help with the job search process.”

Gregory pointed out that not only does a potential employer want to know what you can do, but they also want to know who you are.

“It's important to keep in mind that your LinkedIn profile and your resume are not the same thing,” she said. “Your LinkedIn profile is a place to tell your story and to showcase your passions, which is so much more comprehensive than your resume.”

With that said, adding a little bit of flavor to your online presence can potentially land you that dream job. There are many resume templates and useful information online to help recent graduates create the perfect resume and attract potential employers. These resume templates, however, might not be to your advantage.

“These specific tools can be limiting to what kinds of information you can put on your resume,” Smiseck said. “This is why we offer resume workshops and help to establish a good resume. Employers are looking for what you can do and that you can do what they want you to do. Every resume you create needs to be specifically tailored to the job you are seeking. You should have more than one resume created. You may have a lot of experience doing a lot of different things, but if none are pertaining to the job, then there is not really a place for it on your resume.”

Both Smiseck and Gregory said that the most important thing to remember in a job search is networking. Use interpersonal communication as a way to network because in many cases it’s not about what you know, but whom you know. One great way to develop relationships and create opportunities is to seek out the contact information for people doing the jobs you want to be doing.

“If there is a person that you know is doing the exact job you dream about, email them and ask them some questions about their job and how they got to the point that they are at,” Smiseck added.  “It is important to utilize all of the resources out there that eventually lead you to the career that you seek. Networking and sound experience are still simple assets that can aid you in reaching your goals.”

-Asha I. Toure '17, Office of University Communications