Find a job using Twitter
When you begin to use Twitter and understand what it’s really used for, you begin to see the power of Twitter and how it can help develop your career.
Ultimately, Twitter helps create a clear picture of you to potential employers. You are able to participate in conversations about your niche and display your passions. You can listen to what is going on in your industry and help others. With Twitter, you are able to engage in a professional network and discover new career opportunities.
In this Twitter orientated section you will discover:
>>> How to build credibility on Twitter
>>> How to build your network
>>> Find a job on Twitter
Why will Twitter help in improve your job search and employability?
Twitter allows you to build credibility and add value to conversations about your industry. You’ll be able to network and create meaningful connections with recruiters. Finally, it will allow you to generate job leads. With recruiters now turning to social media and with at least 80% of jobs not advertised, you can tap into the hidden job market.
Do not expect Twitter to be a shortcut to success, but with time and appropriate effort it can help improve your life and career.
Conduct a Twitter audit
Twitter is a powerful tool to connect with people who can advance your career, to engage your target market, to establish credibility and to build your personal brand. Lets see if you’re using it effectively.
Is your Twitter handle/name consistent with your brand?
Use your real first name and surname for your Twitter account. If this isn’t available then try and get as close to it as possible without damaging your brand. You want to be coming up in the search engine results for your name.
Your photo – is there consistency with Linkedin and Facebook (if you are using Facebook)?
This one is a no brainer. If you don’t have a half decent photo available, get one as soon as possible.
Do you have a compelling bio?
Pack your bio with your keywords and personal brand statement. What makes you unique? What are you currently looking for? Does it show that you have a sense of humour?
Have you got a customised background image?
The background image shows yet more about whom you are. Make sure it provides more information about you and is relevant to your target audience. If you’re stuck for ideas, try twilk.com.
Are you following the right people?
Twitter is the best tool to use to engage with experts in your prospective industry. Browse Twitter to see who is following whom and spend time building a great list of people to follow. You can also use tools like Twellow.com to help you.
Have you used Twitter search to follow people talking about your industry recently?
By using Twitter’s search tool you can follow even more people who are Tweeting about what you need to be Tweeting about!
Have you posted relevant articles, information, quotes or links in the past two weeks?
Twitter is about adding value to someone else’s day. Do not Tweet what you ate for breakfast. Tweet links that are useful, interesting, helpful or funny.
Have you answered relevant questions in the past two weeks?
Do a Twitter search to find people asking questions you can answer. If you’re a marketing expert then see if you can search for marketing problems to help out with.
Have you re-tweeted (RT) other peoples Tweets in the past two weeks?
By RT’ing someone’s tweet then it shows that you like their tweet, like that person and you are pushing the message out to more people. RT by putting, RT @UserName and then enter their message. Or, hit the Re-tweet button. But they are less likely to see you re-tweeted them this way.
With Twitter, you want to make sure you are engaging your network. Ask questions, reply to others using the @ function, ask for feedback, and make sure you are always part of the conversation. Meet people with common interests by participating in discussions related to your personal brand. Make yourself known as someone with thoughtful insights and a helpful attitude.
Twitter gives you the opportunity to connect and interact with your target market (whether that’s clients, business partners, customers, potential employers, etc.). So don’t Tweet random and insignificant things (I hate it when I run out of milk in the morning). Instead, tap into the power of Twitter by using it specifically to advance your career, connect with the right people, establish trust and credibility, and strengthen your personal brand online.
A few Twitter basics
@ replies. Using the @ symbol is the way to reply to someone on twitter. Just use @ and then their username. For example, “@RichardBranson I love your hair.” and Richard will see your message.
RT’s or Re-tweets are when someone re-posts or ‘re-tweets’ yours or someone else’s message. You can either do this by copy and pasting the whole tweet and putting “RT @username” at the beginning or press the Re-tweet button on the message. This will show the message to all your followers. If someone re-tweets your message, say thank you.
#Hashtags. Using a hashtag is a way to highlight a subject in your tweet and also search for subjects. For example, if there is an event going on and lots of people are going to it they may use a hashtag so that they can get a feed of information from that event.
Direct messages allow you to send a message (still only 140 characters) to one of your followers. They must be following you; otherwise you won’t have the option to send a message tot hem.
Build credibility on Twitter
As we all know, competition for jobs is incredibly fierce. Employers are looking for people who stand out and take initiative and lead from the front.
Twitter allows you to show your qualities and display why you are different. Since the search engines pick up Twitter (and you are going to have it linked from your Linkedin profile), Twitter has a massive reach.
When using twitter to enhance your career you must do the same as before, think back to your goals. What job are you looking for? What kind of people do you want to connect with? What skills and traits do I need to start displaying to potential employers?
After that, let’s get set up:
1. Grab your Twitter username. Ideally, you want your username to be as close to your real name as possible. So if your name isn’t available then use underscores (_) or dashes (-) between your first name and surname. If neither of those are available then put a professional spin on it by putting ‘Marketing’, or ‘PR’ at the end of your name.
Or, you can just use your first initial and then your last name, or vice versa. Do whatever you can to use your name.
2. Get a professional photo. As before, you’ll want to use a simliar or the same photo as your Linkedin profile. No party pictures please!
3. Write a professional bio. You’ve got 160 characters to use up to tell the Twitter world about you. Don’t use the same headline as your Linkedin profile. Twitter is still a professional environment but is just a bit more casual that Linkedin. Choose your industry specific keywords that describe your skills and passions so that employers can find you.
Importantly, you also have the option to put a link under your bio. If you have a blog or website, link to it. If you have neither, then link to your Linkedin profile!
4. Get a custom background. There is a massive amount of space to tell Twitter users more about who you are. If you don’t use it, you are losing a lot of opportunity.
You can get custom backgrounds that will have a short paragraph about you and give call to actions about where to contact you etc.
If you know a graphic designer then get him or her to do it (or do one yourself). There are various sites on the web that do it. The free ones aren’t so great but better than nothing.
Try:
Twitrbackgrounds.com – For custom designs ($99, approx £69)
Twitbacks – for template design (free or cheap)
What to tweet about to make yourself credible
1. Link to interesting, new and relevant information. You want to add value to your community of followers. If you are on the ball of where to find relevant content and bring it to your followers, then that is fantastic. If an employer sees this, they will see that you are already involved in industry conversation. Even better, if you are writing some (not all) of this content yourself on your blog.
2. Answer relevant questions. Take a little time to search for questions by using the search function on the right hand side. Do your best to answer them or at least provide a source that can will help them. Think of twitter as a question and answer tool. If you can solve problems then you will begin to get noticed and followed.
3. Be personal and show your personality. Do you have a good sense of humour? Then show it. Employers love a good sense of humour as much as anybody, just try not to be too risqué! Make sure you are personal with your response by using @replies and give credit for RT’s (re-tweets). Use hastags # to highlight a topic within your tweets.
Quick tip: Do not become embroiled in debates about politics or religion!
Next step: Building your online network…
Build your network
Remember this is STEP TWO, not step one. It means you can’t skip step one.
If you skip step one and try and get followers without any tweets or credibility, then only a few people will follow you. Unless, you happen to be quite well known in your industry or famous – you need to do step 1.
The goal with Twitter is to network with new people, rather than follow what your friends are doing. You can use Facebook to do that.
Here are the steps you need to follow in order to build your network…
1. Search for people talking about your industry. When you find people, start to interact.
Use these tools to monitor specific keywords:
2. Go to local business and networking events and meet new people. Follow them. Try Meetup.com, there really is no substitute for meeting people in person.
3. Choose quality over quantity. You want your twitter feed to be a source of good quality information, your daily news feed. It should be interesting and helpful. Therefore, don’t follow a bunch of people just for the sake of it.
4. Put your Twitter URL everywhere you can. As we’ve said through the course, make sure everything is linked. Put your twitter url on Facebook, Linkedin and even your CV.
Next step: Find a job on Twitter…
Find a job via Twitter
After following steps one and two, you should have a strong profile and following. You know your career goals and have begun to add value to your community.
The steps to find a job through Twitter are:
1. Go back to your target list. Remember the list you made earlier with the companies you want to work for? Have you found them on Twitter? Are you following the hiring manager? Start connecting with them by @replying some of their tweets.
2. Search Twitter for jobs.
3. Subtly mention that you are looking for opportunities. Use hashtags to do this. For example you could use #London #Availabletowork #Marketing – try different things to see what works.
4. Connect and ask people who don’t want to work with. If you’ve had good rapport with someone on Twitter or you’ve met them then ask them if they know of any jobs available within the industry that would suit you.
5. Check out the different job sites to see if they have a twitter feed of jobs. If you look at a sites homepage they should have a link to twitter. Follow them in order to keep track of new job offers (this is a very passive option, do not let this be your only strategy).
Well done and good luck!
