If you’re among the millions of people seeking work, there is more of a social networking site that you may have to join Twitter.
Twitter? For the job search? In the history of Kyle Flaherty. He left a job in marketing at Boston determined to find a job in-house public relations. He tweeted about his decision and included a link to her professional blog, where he described the kind of work he sought. A few days later, his tweet was retweeted. In other words, knowledge was passed – to his current boss.
“I do not think I got it if not for Twitter,” said Flaherty, who moved from Boston to Austin, Texas, for the new job with a pregnant woman and a two year old son.
Twitter basics
Twitter, as you probably know, is the social networking site that lets you send tweets – the equivalent of text messages or status updates from Facebook, but limited to 140 characters. You must keep them very short and simple. To register, simply fill out an online profile. Then you can send tweets and view on your computer, cell phone or mobile internet device. Unlike Facebook, you can follow (receive tweets from) someone, there is no formal process of requesting and accepting.
When you register to monitor tweets from someone, they see that you’re next. It’s a good thing, because they may decide to reciprocate and follow you, too, which is something you want if you are a professional trying to get noticed.
“Twitter gives you access to people you might not otherwise meet or encounter,” says Miriam Salpeter, Career Coach and founder of Keppie Careers in Atlanta.
Join the conversation
Needless to say, not everyone has a job simply tweeting on their employment status. But Twitter, like LinkedIn, Facebook, and industry conferences, is a way to reach out and reach out to people who know the hiring managers or you can submit them.
Many people use Twitter to share ramblings blind, like “having a hamburger with friends this afternoon.” But the most clever Twitterers use to comment on events in their professions. Tweets they follow industry leaders and even to establish informal relations following one another.
If you have never used Twitter, do not sign up immediately and furnaces people with a message saying that you are unemployed. Instead, create a slow dynamics. Open an account and include something about your profession in your username. Since users can search by subject tweets is a way to make your feed more visible.
“I automatically follow back anyone who has a job or jobs in their title,” says Salpeter, whose name is keppie_careers Twitter.
In the profile section, add a few lines about what you do professionally – which also contributes to your searchable.
Before start tweeting, research leaders in your industry, the companies you want to work, and any other professional contacts. Follow them. Many companies – including marketing, public relations, and technology – using Twitter to post job offers, and many hiring managers tweet, too.
“You can hear about jobs, an idea for a business to determine how to interact with them and see how you fit in,” Flaherty said.
Make an impression
Then, start tweeting. Give your opinion on the news, industry events, and seminars. If someone is following you, especially a leader in the industry, says something controversial or interesting, retweet (before), or send the person a direct answer. This may be an ideal way to get a conversation, but more personal.
If you are a hiring manager in a company you want to work out what he or she writes and then adapt your tweets to comment on such things.
This is what John Johansen did when he decided he wanted to leave Boston for a more affordable. It targets marketing professionals in Raleigh, North Carolina, Portland, Oregon, and Austin – and began following their tweets. When someone in the media said something very interesting, he replied with a message @ – public comment. This helped him develop relationships with marketing professionals in the cities. In turn, introduced him to others on Twitter.
As he found he had wanted to work for companies, Johansen Twitter search to locate their employees. In this way, he found the head of human resources for Bulldog Solutions, a marketing agency in Austin. “I had been following their ballots and had an interest in working there,” he said. “I learned of their human resources director has been on Twitter, so I contacted her.” They met, she asked her resume – and he was hired.
“Much of the use of Twitter is that it allowed me to break the ice,” said Johansen. “For a job seeker, it is a way of saying:” I can show you that I am a real person, I see you are a real person, and we have a connection. From the employer side, they can see what a person is talking about when they are on Twitter and how they operate outside of work. ”
Johansen has laid off five months after it began, because of the economic slowdown. He jumped back on Twitter and was used to find freelance work.
“There is nothing revolutionary about such things,” said Flaherty. “It is evolutionary. Back in the day, we sent letters a few years later e-mails, and a few years later we have updated our blogs. The beauty of Twitter is that it’s as if you’re on a network if all the time, in real time. “
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