Social Media

Getting Started with Twitter for Job Search

Since Twitter’s launch in 2006, it has been emerging as robust job search tool to find opportunities and be found by hiring decision makers.Twitter can help build your online credibility as a candidate and showcase your expertise in an industry or a specific subject area.

Most hiring decision makers are researching candidates online before bringing them in for interviews, so be mindful of how you build your professional presence on Twitter. You may not be aware of this but all of your tweets are permanently indexed by Google.

Here’s how to get started on Twitter and build a solid foundation for your career campaign:

1) Go to www.twitter.com and click “Sign Up” You’ll be asked for your name, a user name (which becomes your Twitter “handle”) and an email address connected to your account.

2) Choose a Twitter handle (up to 20 characters) that reflects your professional persona or even your name — whichever presents you in a positive light. Mine is @Career_Success because it’s an extension of my website: www.career-success-coach.com. Your Twitter handle becomes part of your Twitter URL, like mine is www.twitter.com/career_success.

3) Build your profile at www.twitter.com/settings/profile, where you can upload a professional headshot, provide your location, and list a website (if you have one) or your LinkedIn URL.

4) Write a compelling 160-character bio (last section of the Profile page) that reflects your professional brand. Mine is “The Career Success Coach: Helping Executives, Managers and Professionals Find Perfect Career Paths Since 1991.”

5) Use “Twitres” http://twitres.com/ to display your resume. Simply upload a copy of your resume and it will appear as the background on your Twitter page.

6) Find people and places to follow, such as target companies, recruiters and thought leaders in your industry. Use Twitter’s advanced search feature (http://search.twitter.com/advanced) to locate company names and inside contacts. One of my clients found a former supervisor on Twitter; he followed him, they connected and he wrote my client a LinkedIn recommendation.

7) Listen carefully for hidden opportunities in your Twitter feed. Hiring managers or other decision makers may mention some unmet needs or possible positions in your industry or target companies. Initiate conversations with people you follow, using the “Message” feature on their Twitter page.

8) Tweet value-added posts (up to 140 characters) that convey your expertise to your network, recruiters and potential employers. You can tweet your own blog posts or links to industry-related articles. Here’s an example tweet from someone in sales: “New sales lead tracking software to replace ACT is here: <article link>”. Use http://bit.ly/ to shorten links.

9) Open a free account with www.TweetMyJOBS.com, to access thousands of targeted jobs matching your account profile. You can also get instant notification of new jobs in your Twitter feed or on your mobile device, and be able to post (and tweet) your resume and profile to numerous recruiters and hiring managers.

10) Go to Job-Hunt.org to get free job postings of employers who recruit through Twitter: www.twitter.com/JobHuntOrg/employers-recruiting. To see what that was like, I signed up for a trial and was amazed at the quality of opportunities offered from companies like Citibank, Hertz and Kaiser-Permanente, to name a few.

Of course, no single online platform will ever replace the relationships you’ll build offline. Nevertheless, with so many job seekers and hiring decision makers using Twitter, it certainly makes sense to add it to your job search toolkit.

The Three Biggest Mistakes Jobseekers Make on LinkedIn – and How to Avoid Them

LinkedIn has evolved into a top social networking site where jobseekers can get found by hiring managers searching for top talent. It is also a tool for jobseekers to build credibility with their networking contacts who can recommend them for potential employment opportunities.

Your biggest challenge on LinkedIn is to position yourself as a valuable candidate, without looking like a desperate jobseeker. If you are not attracting job opportunities through LinkedIn, see if you’re making these three serious mistakes with your profile:

Mistake #1: “Job Search” Language in Headlines and Current Employment Status

Common, generic examples are: “<fill-in-the-blank> Professional looking for <entry, mid, senior>-level position” [Headline] and “Actively exploring direct hire, contract, and consulting opportunities” [Current Employer].

This type of message will be a turn off to hiring managers, like the useless resume objective: “Seeking a challenging position in a progressive organization.” Employers don’t care about what you want; they are interested in knowing what kind of problems you can solve for their company.

Use a professional headline that conveys who you are, what you do professionally, and in which industry; but lose the “job search” wording. Instead, edit the “Opportunity Preferences” and check the box that indicates you are open to “Career opportunities.”

If you’re unemployed, put some entries into your current employment status, to show that you’re not just sitting idle, waiting for opportunities to fall into your lap. You can list that you’re a consultant in your area of expertise (even if you’ve just started your practice) or describe a volunteer project you’re involved in.

Mistake #2: Redundant / Repetitive Network Updates

If you have “Status Updates” enabled, your network will be alerted every time you make the slightest edit to your profile. While these pings might improve your search engine ranking, your contacts will be annoyed with these repetitive updates, when they see that nothing major in your employment status has changed.

A better strategy is to temporarily turn off “Status Updates” when editing your profile. Go to https://www.linkedin.com/settings/, scroll to “Privacy Controls” then click “Turn on/turn off activity broadcasts” and uncheck the box which says: “Let people know when you change your profile, make recommendations, or follow companies.”

When you have made an important change, click the “Share Profile” button to the right of your profile. This opens a prewritten email you can send to your contacts, notifying them that you changed your profile and would like their input. Doing so will create meaningful interactions with your contacts, without boring them with minor edits to your profile.

Mistake #3: Status Updates Unrelated to your Profession

Put yourself in the shoes of a prospective employer. When they visit your LinkedIn profile page, what will they see about what you have to offer? Will they see whatever career advice you’ve been reading, or some religious or political commentary? These types of posts or “likes” will do nothing to support your professional value, unless you are a career coach, clergy member or politician.

A better strategy is to post information which conveys your expertise to your network, recruiters and potential employers. These can be your own blog posts or links to industry-related articles. Here’s an example post from someone in sales: “New sales lead tracking software to replace ACT is here: <article link>”. Hint: use http://bit.ly/ to shorten links.

LinkedIn can help you make the best impression on both your network and the hiring community. If you avoid these three mistakes and follow my suggestions, you’ll go from desperate jobseeker to savvy online networker.

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