Practice Management

Law students want jobs and internships. Graduates want legal positions. Employers do not want problems. They want rational people who will show up to work. We all know that perceived personal traits do not always show up at work, and that a snapshot in time does not make the person. But, employers are not going to necessarily take that chance.

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.

I personally have noticed that many law students and recent graduates have not left the frat life behind in terms of how they present themselves in their social media circles. If nothing else, how many avatars of law students still have some guy or gal hanging off their neck or sucking face? I do not think that is necessarily the worse thing in the world. It is just not professional. It reflects the wrong image to client-centered organizations.

Law students and graduates, or anybody for that matter, need to avoid photos and videos that are not suitable; criticisms of previous employers, co-workers, or clients; and even inappropriate comments by friends and relatives, according to the survey report, titled "Online Reputation in a Connected World."

Social media is popular. It is becoming more beneficial. With that we need to realize that online screenings may be a permanent part of the 21st-century hiring process. The Microsoft survey found that 79 percent of U.S. hiring managers have used the Internet to better assess applicants.