EVANSTON — With annual winter job and internship fairs approaching, many Northwestern students are crossing their fingers in hopes that their “social media skills” will be as highly sought-after as that one article they read on Forbes a month ago reported was a possibility.

“I’m a social media expert,” said Weinberg junior Justin Thomas. “I am proficient in Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Tumblr, and now SnapChat.”

According to a recent career services survey, over the past year many formerly undecided undergrads have made a switch to study “probably marketing or PR or communications.”

“We’re proud to be fostering an environment that prepares students for an online world,” said Beverly Smith, an elderly career counselor, who like many adults still asks her children how to update her status on Facebook and has little grasp of the realities of the Internet or e-business.

LinkedIn has also reported unprecedented increases in the number of its college-age users who have “social media,” “social media marketing,” “social networking,” “social marketing,” or just “social” Skills. This rise is directly correlated to the growing number of Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) guest lecturers that have visited Northwestern to speak about something with “digital” in the title.

“Look—I know how to use HootSuite,” Thomas said as navigated to the little icon on his iPhone 5, proving he had downloaded the application. “I also know how to make memes. And I’ve heard of Google Analytics.”

“Twitter is an incredibly powerful tool for marketers, because it allows them to establish a brand connection to a global audience on a global scale in the digital space in real time,” Weinberg sophomore Lindsay Gold explained while glancing down at a TechCrunch article on her Droid. Behind her, six Medill professors nodded furiously in agreement.

“So powerful,” they all said in unison.

Gold said she is applying to literally every company she finds on CareerCat that is looking for a “social media” or “social media marketing” intern, regardless of industry, reputation, or location.

“I have lots of good Facebook marketing ideas,” Gold said. “Like an iPad giveaway. Or a competition for getting the most Likes. Or an iPad Mini giveaway.”