How to Use Twitter to Expand the Job Search
Customizing Profile and Tweeting About Job Hunt Key to Success
Oct 12, 2009
Twitter is a simplified “micro-blogging” website where a person can post his or her status and in turn follow updates from family, friends, colleagues, and other interesting people. In recent days, the site has also become a job searching tool rivaling the likes of online career websites such as Monster and SimplyHired. Can a candidate really find employment in 140 characters or less? The answer is yes – and here’s how.
Customize the Twitter Profile
Candidates should approach their Twitter profile in a professional manner that takes every opportunity to showcase objectives, qualifications, and career skills. For the name, use the real name rather than a pseudonym. For the URL, enter a link to an online professional networking or resume site (e.g., Linkedin or VisualCV).
For the bio, provide a brief qualifications summary indicating employment goals, skills, and accomplishments (160 characters or less). Make sure the Protect my updates checkbox is unchecked so that employers have public access to the profile and contact information. The photo should be a professional-looking headshot, not a casual picture one would post for friends and family.
For the profile background, any of Twitter’s pre-selected themes will suffice. If the person would like to use a custom image for the background, make sure the image is clean and professional-looking.
Search for Employment Using Twitter
Candidates should tweet as much about the search as possible, providing up to the minute status updates (of course, in 140 characters or less). For example, “Interview at 2PM for a Senior SAP Implementation Specialist at Boston Chiptronics,” “Does anyone know if MicroSalient in Seattle is hiring Telecom Engineers?,” “Seeking full-time position in North Hollywood as a Talent Agent,” or, “Back from interview at Metre Systems International – went great!”
Candidates should use hashtags such as #jobs and #jobsearch in every career-related tweet. Denoted by the number sign (#), hashtags are used within a tweet to specify keywords that are picked up in searches by employers looking for candidates. This technique increases visibility and expands the person’s professional network.
Hashtags also serve another important purpose. According to Joel Cheesman in the May 26, 2009 Cheesehead article, “Everyone’s Slingin’ Hash(jobs) on Twitter,” Jason Davis, co-founder of the career search website HashJobs, says candidates can search #jobs to find numerous career listings on Twitter. Davis believes this technique is so effective that it should scare established employment search engines including Monster and Indeed.
Lastly, candidates using Twitter should search on the term “jobs” and follow recruiters, companies, and online career boards of interest for advice and instant notification of new opportunities. Top profiles include @indeed, @CareerBuilder, @work_freelance, @MonsterCareers, @SimplyHired, and for friends across the pond, @TwitjobsUK. Also search on a company of interest to see if they post employment listings (e.g., @JobsatIntel).
With its 140-character or less claim to fame, Twitter seems a highly unlikely tool to use in the job search. Yet when the candidate learns how to effectively customize the profile and search for employment using proprietary techniques such as hashtags and following employment sites, harnessing the micro-blogging site becomes an effective strategy in finding a new career.
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