Three great ways to job search with Twitter

Shawna Simcik //February 14, 2013//

Three great ways to job search with Twitter

Shawna Simcik //February 14, 2013//

Introducing Twitter to a job seeker in career transition is similar to saying the word “walk” to a golden retriever in a high-pitched voice. The head tilts to the side quizzically. “Really? Are you joking? Twitter is for Chris Brown and Kim Kardashian.”

Actually, no. Twitter is a fabulous, free resource to support a career transition. Here are three ways you should use this innovative micro-blogging tool to accelerate your job search.

1. Start Tweeting!

Similar to LinkedIn status updates, job seekers can use this as a tool to demonstrate expertise, thought leadership and stay connected to companies, influencers and recruiters. Use 140 characters to talk to your “followers” about your field of expertise. Link to great articles you have read, back to your LinkedIn profile or Personal Branded Website. This also subconsciously screams, “Wow! He/she is on twitter. He/She must be young,’ ‘with-it’ and up-to-date.”

2. Follow Companies.

Even if you don’t grasp tweeting. Set up a profile and follow companies. Follow companies where you want to work (target companies), companies where you have applied for a position or have an interview. Watch what the company posts and use this information to your advantage. Retweet (RT) what the company is saying, or strategically squeeze into your interview how you read via Twitter about a recent business press release.

3. Follow Recruiters & Influencers.

Similar to following a company, you can also follow recruiters or influencers that tweet jobs! People such as @oipartnersinc @tweetmyjobs  tweet jobs regularly. 54% of recruiters are now using this free resource to accelerate the message of open positions rather than paying fees to post on job boards. Also, utilizing an aggregate tool such as hootsuite, seismic or tweetdeck allows you to search for keywords. For example, search for the terms “vice president,” “Denver” and “jobs” and it will locate any tweet within twitter that has these three keywords in the text! You’ll be amazed – guaranteed. Give it a try!

Happy Tweeting!