We’ve talked numerous times about the role social media will play in the job search for student-athletes. It’s something we talk about often during our sessions with student-athletes, because they have to be thinking long-term. Social Media isn’t a toy to play with, it’s a tool that significantly impact their present and future – if they know how to use it well.

Jobvite released the results of their 6th annual social recruiting survey, and the numbers can’t be ignored. Let’s look at a few key stats.

94% of companies use or plan to use social media for recruiting. That’s nearing universal adoption. If your student-athletes want to know what jobs are available, they need to be following and interacting with companies on their various social media outlets.

78% of companies have hired somebody through social media. We often hear the horror stories about how somebody lost their job because of a post on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram, but you don’t usually hear the good news. A majority of companies have hired somebody through social media. For student-athletes, that requires a plan. How will you get noticed? How will you present yourself online in a way that impresses job recruiters and not your friends? For educators, this is why social media education is much more than just “don’t tweet this because you’ll get in trouble.” Sure they can stop using profanity and tweeting pictures of alcohol, but what are they doing to add value?

93% of recruiters will look at a candidate’s social media profiles. We all know somebody that has lost out on a job because of something they’ve put on social media. They just don’t know it, because the recruiter doesn’t inform them. At most, they get an email stating that the company, “is going a different direction” in their recruiting efforts. Then they continue to use social media the same way, never knowing what their poor decisions are costing them. And we have to get away from statements like, “social media cost them a job.” Social Media didn’t cost them anything – their own decisions cost them a job. Twitter didn’t make them send that profanity-laced tweet, and Instagram didn’t make them upload that racy picture.