SAN ANTONIO — Depending on your career, building an identity on social media could be a plus during your job search. 

The joys of graduation are typically met with the stress of finding a job.

James Ritchie is the senior career consultant at the University of Texas at San Antonio.

“We do a lot of career planning,” said Ritchie. “Usually, the first question I always ask, especially like today, is orientation. Raise your hand if you want a job after you graduate,” Ritchie said. “And everybody’s hands go up.”

Working at the university’s career center, he’s helping students transition into the workforce. 

“We do have resume templates,” Ritchie said. “There’s CV templates that we offer as well, too.”

But Ritchie says times have changed. For job seekers, having a digital footprint is becoming even more important.

“If you have a paper resume and you’re going to an expo or something like that, having a little QR code that the employer can scan, then get the digital copy,” Ritchie said.

On top of a digital resume, social media platforms have become big tools for recruiting employees. Online recruiting company Career Arch says 92% of employers use social media networks to find talent.

“Not for all majors, but communications, marketing, advertising,” Ritchie said. “Most business students will flock to Instagram. Number one, it’s much easier to make an Instagram account than it is to build out a whole website.”

Although social media may be the new way to showcase your skills, Ritchie says those "better safe than sorry" rules still apply. If you allow potential employers access to your social platforms, it’s best to keep it clean.

“If you have a red cup in your photo, what are people going to assume is in there?” Ritchie said. “Something you probably shouldn’t have on there. Ideally, you would just have the photos on there that either speak to your character, speak to interest that you have or hobbies or something like that.”

In the 2020s, your social media could be the thing that sets you apart in a pool full of applicants.

“What better way to show somebody about your knowledge of advertising, marketing in a social media form than just sending them your professional Instagram?” Ritchie said.