“It gives us a general idea of the professionalism of a candidate,” said Ryan Vartoogian, president of Spartan Internet Consulting Corp., 115 W. Allegan St., in Lansing.

The corporation programs and designs Web sites while working with companies on marketing solutions.

“In our area specifically — Internet consulting — it gives us an idea of (the candidate’s) Internet experience,” Vartoogian said. “If they’re not aware of the impact of their Facebook profile on their employment, that’s interesting.”

In a December 2007 survey conducted by CareerBuilder.com, 45 percent of employers reported using online search engines or social networking sites to research job candidates.

Vartoogian said he has employees – some who are recent MSU graduates — look at candidates’ profiles to get a glimpse of how they would fit into a professional environment.

“In a half-hour interview, you only get a polished look, not how they fit into a corporate environment,” he said.

Phil Gardner, director of the MSU Collegiate Employment Research Institute, said social networking sites are becoming increasingly important.

“There’s a lot of positive things,” he said. “Companies are making their presence known on Facebook to reach candidates. The negative is they also can get in and use that individual space to look at a candidate.”

Packaging senior Chad Avery said he wasn’t worried about employers looking at his profile. He simply removed pictures employers might find unprofessional.

“I cleaned it up for the time I was interviewing,” he said.

He has since taken a job at HP Products in a suburb of Chicago.

Brenton Lameira, a mechanical engineering and general business administration senior, said he heard of employers checking Facebook before he began applying for jobs.

While applying for jobs, Lameira set his profile to private and removed unwanted pictures and comments.

“I know if employers were checking my Facebook, I wouldn’t want them to see me drinking with my friends and stuff like that,” he said.

Theda Rudd, associate director for Career Services Network, said recruiters will look for any public information they can find.

“It’s not a formalized part of the evaluation, but if there is information out there, they’re going to use it,” Rudd said. “I tell students this is accessible information.”

Vartoogian said the profiles also can aid candidates.

“We look at what groups (candidates) belong to,” he said. “Sometimes they leave that off their résumé, but that can help.”

He said if a candidate’s profile shows that he or she is passionate about helping the community, it benefits them in the hiring process.

Lisa Hinkley, field career consultant for the College of Communication Arts and Sciences, said most things employers find on a candidate’s profile wouldn’t necessarily affect hiring.

“It has to be the types of things on a profile that are derogatory to the company,” Hinkley said. “Some random drunkenness is not going to change their mind if they already liked a candidate.”

Donna Black, a human relations specialist with the city of Lansing, said its hiring process already is thorough enough without using social networking sites.

“If we are recruiting a police officer, we look at their criminal background, work history, we talk with their friends, neighbors, teachers and (examine) their college background,” she said. “It’s detailed information — we do cover as much as possible.”

Networking is an essential part of a job search, and the Internet can aid students who are about to graduate, Rudd said.

“(Facebook) is the ultimate network,” she said. “Yes, it’s a social network, but it’s not that different from professional networking.”