The 140 Character Job Search
By Martin Buckland - Executive Career Management Professional
In the era of social recruitment Twitter - along with LinkedIn and Facebook - is a valuable tool to include in your job search plan. Many of my clients are often surprised when I say there’s a job for them on Twitter because they immediately presume this site is more about posting quick content than a career management resource. So, let’s look at how you can utilize Twitter to maximize your job search.
According to the folks at Herd Wisdom, who produced The Social Recruiting Pocket Guide, 8 MILLION APPLICANTS FOUND THEIR JOB ON TWITTER. (You may want to read that figure again to let it soak in.)
How could that be? Here’s some of the ways Twitter is used as a career tool. In the latest 2014 Jobvite Social Recruiting Survey and the 2014 Jobvite Job Seeker Nation Study:
52% of recruiters use Twitter with 39% Tweeting job postings
32% of recruiters use the site to generate employee referrals
18% use Twitter to vet candidates post-interview
29% of respondents used Twitter to share a job opportunity with a contact
28% provided an employee’s perspective on a company
Where to begin? Take the first step by signing up.
Create an account using your own name. This is about building your brand and being consistent in all your communication tools. Use just your first and last name; nothing personalized or unprofessional. If you’re already on LinkedIn as www.linkedin.com/in/johndoe and your email address is [email protected], then create your Twitter account as @JohnDoe.
Add your professional biography. First, create a draft as you only have 160 characters, so concise writing is critical. Think it can’t be done? Consider the following sentence created in 101 characters. Award winning CPG sales hunter, President’s Club Winner 2007 to 2013 for exceeding $1M sales annually.
Connect your URL to your LinkedIn account. This lets the reader to learn more about you with other links to your email, blog, personal website, and any other contact information you wish to share publicly.
Start following people and companies. Build your network of influence, gain insight into industry trends, post Tweets relevant to your field of expertise, share your knowledge by responding to Tweets, follow and compile research on companies you would like to work for. Many employers and HR managers are on Twitter as well as job boards and company career pages. Sign up to job boards to receive the heads up on jobs as they appear.
There are many other Twitter tools which can easily be found and explored. The point of this blog is for you to embrace Twitter and use it to the optimum to secure your next job.
As more and more companies realize social recruiting is a cost effective tool over traditional hiring practices, it is critical that you position yourself to be found by the hiring influencers. Social profiles, including Twitter, provide insight into an applicant’s professional experience, industry-related posts, and cultural fit.
Even if you’re not comfortable putting your profile out there, at the very minimum Twitter is a great research tool. The more research you uncover about a job and target employer, the better you can customize your resume and cover letter, and prepare for a job interview.
Just remember, what you Tweet is public information. Hiring influencers routinely “Google” perspective applicants as part of the selection process. You wouldn’t want one bad Tweet to impact your candidacy.
Follow me on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/MartinBuckland or https://twitter.com/EliteResumes.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Martin Buckland, President of Elite Resumes, is a leading resume writer, career coach and job search strategist with a global clientele. Martin currently holds the following certifications: Certified Professional Branding Strategist, Certified Professional Resume Writer, Certified Employment Interview Professional, Job and Career Transition Coach, Certified Job Search Trainer and Co-Pilot Executive Coach. Visit my website: http://www.aneliteresume.com
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