How to Use Twitter to Find Your Next Job

The social networking website is much more than a place for friends to keep in touch all day or affiliate marketers to flood spammy tweets. Twitter can actually be a very useful resource for many things, including finding employment. So, when you’re looking for your next job, include Twitter in your networking strategy to improve your chances of improving your career!

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Computer
• Internet Access
• Twitter Account
• WordPress Account (optional)

1. 
    
   Use WordPress for Your Online Resume

   The first step in your social networking job searching is to have a resume online. This is actually very simple to do with WordPress. If you already have a copy of your resume on your computer, you can complete a multi-page resume in WordPress in under an hour. Read “How to Create an Online Resume using WordPress”. The link is in the resources section at the bottom of this article.

2. 
    
   Use Twitter to Network

   Your second step is to ensure you have a Twitter account that is professional enough for you to use as a job hunting connection. If you do not have a Twitter account, go to the Twitter website and sign yourself up. If you do have a Twitter account but you are concerned about your user name or what kind of followers you have, open a second account that is dedicated to your job search. Try to use a professional user name such as your initials and last name, i.e. leduncan.

3. Your Twitter account needs to show potential employers that you are a professional. At a minimum, be sure to add a profile picture to your profile and write something about what your goals are or what our qualifications are in your available bio.
   
   If you want to get a bit more professional, you can add your own background, include a picture there, list your qualifications, goals, etc. You can read more about how to create a custom background in the "How to Create a Custom Twitter Background from Scratch" article. The link is in the resource section at the bottom of this page.

4. 
    
   Follow Those You Think Will Help

   After you have your Twitter account open and professional looking, the next step is to locate people and companies that you wish to receive tweets from. There are many Twitter profiles that are dedicated to sending out job announcements all day long. Here are several to get start following immediately:
   
   @tweetmyjobs – With @tweetmyjobs, you can go to their website and select what industry and location you would like to receive information on and they will tweet you just the jobs you are interested in.
   
   @hashjobs – Sends out hundreds of job announcements everyday. You can also use the “#jobs” search function. They almost always have it in their posts.
   
   @CareerBuilder – Start here. Career Builder has multiple Twitter accounts for different locations and industries. For example: @Houstongovjobs.
   
   @GSJNews – Sends out one or two job announcement tweets a day.
   
   @job_operations – Ajilon is a consultant group that sends out several job announcements a week.
   
   For other career help such as resumes, interview tips, coverletters, etc. here are a couple of more to begin following immediately:
   
   @CAREEREALISM – Lots of daily career news and help for the job seeker.
   
   @CurriculumVitae – Advice and templates for your CV, resume and cover letters.
   
   @JobSearchDaily – Lots of daily (hourly) advice. Tweets always have links to articles to help you with your job search.

5. You are now following 7 accounts that will be sending you information. You also need to find people, recruiters, and hiring managers that are looking for you! Use Twitter’s search function to find these people. If you are in the aviation industry, and you search for airline jobs, you will find Twitter accounts like @AirlineJobcast. If you are looking for a job in a specific location and you search for Niagara Falls Jobs, you will find @NiagaraFallsJobs.

6. 
    
   Growing Twitter Network

   The other type of accounts on Twitter you can search for are the recruiters of these companies. They are actively seeking you out, so with a little effort you can find them. Search for #recruiter or #HR and you will find many impressive recruiters to follow.

7. Use the followers that find you to network. Use those you are following to network. Create a “TinyURL” and post your resume’s link on Twitter posts. People will evaluate your resume. They will give you tips on how to improve it. Use Twitter to network your way into your new career!

Tips & Warnings

• Don’t be afraid to combine your search tags to zero in on the right recruiters or companies, i.e. #jobs #Chicago.
• Twitter and WordPress are not the “end all” for your job hunt. It is only another networking tool that you should use, but it shouldn’t be your only action. Implement other job search strategies online and traditionally.
• Always use caution when job hunting on social networking sites. Not everyone has your best interest in mind.
• Your online resume should not contain any personal information such as your social security number, phone numbers, or address. An email address is okay, if you are comfortable with it. You can also create a “Contact Me” button on your WordPress blog, keeping your email confidential as well.

Resources

• How to Create a Custom Twitter Background from Scratch
• Online Resume Example
• Off Shore Job Listings
• How to Create an Online Resume using WordPress
• Twitter Power: How to Dominate Your Market One Tweet at a Time
• Internet Scams: Job Hunting Just Got a Lot More Dangerous

[mlt34]

on 7/9/2009 Very true. I'd say these tips are very useful. 5 Stars and a recommend!

[chenderson00]

on 6/25/2009 Hmm..I never knew this. Thanks for the info. 5*s I'm currently job hunting for a new job before I pull my hair out at my current one. LOL

[langleycornwell]

on 6/25/2009 This is very good information for an additional job searching vehicle. Thanks for the helpful resources too.