As the school year comes to an end, many graduating students prepare for job interviews.

Some may choose to seek help from employment agencies such as Furst Staffing Services, 3218 Sycamore Road.

Cassandra Roach, account manager for Furst Staffing Services, said a lot of people come in for help without a working resumé. She suggests getting at least a basic resumé together before coming because it will be more effective.

Typically, the agency runs various background checks on prospective employees before deciding whether to hire someone.

“Typical background checks include references from former employers, Googling, social Web sites, criminal and credit background checks, drug screenings and pre-employment testing,” said Mary Myers, associate director of Career Services.

Part of background checking usually includes calling references listed on one’s resumé, so Roach suggests notifying anyone named as a reference.

“It’s important to have good references and to let them know a possible employer may be calling,” Roach said.

Besides finding good references, you should consider cleaning up Facebook or MySpace profiles.

“More and more employers are Googling and checking social Web sites for information regarding prospective applicants,” Myers said, adding that photos of applicants engaged in less-than-professional behavior and negative comments can adversely affect their chances of being hired.

According to a spring 2007 newsletter sent out by NIU Career Services, in a poll conducted by the National Association of College Employers, 26.9 percent of employers said they have Googled or reviewed candidate profiles on social networking sites such as Facebook, MySpace and YouTube. The newsletter also noted that some of the businesses have a standard practice of searching MySpace and Facebook for all prospective employees.

However, some students may have already been required to clean up Facebook pages.

“I do my absolute best to keep my Facebook profile clean,” said Andy Thompson, senior management major and a community adviser. “There is actually a line in my contract as a CA stating that I need to keep track of what is on my profile page, regardless of the security settings, to set a good impression for residents.”

It is important to remove vulgar and inappropriate photos or language before starting on the job search process, and users should always watch for inappropriate comments and photos posted by others, Myers said.