Over the past months I have been experiencing the (un)usefulness of Twitter. Although you have to learn to separate the good things from the bad ones, I am still rather excited about the possibilities. While using Twitter I came across a great blog post by Michael Litman and how he found a new job through Twitter. In my opinion, Twitter is becoming a perfect medium either to find a new job, to look for candidates or to prepare yourself for your job interview (both the candidate and recruiter).
Currently, I use Twitter mainly to look for candidates and to get information about them. Unfortunately, Twitter is not so popular in Poland yet and therefore the scope is rather limited. In countries with a higher Twitter rate the situation is absolutely opposite. Are you using Twitter to find a job or a candidate? Please share your experience here and let’s discuss. This post I will mainly focus on the candidate, but most of the information is applicable to the recruiter as well.
Article Contents
Job recruitment through Social networks, and in this case especially Twitter, has been commonplace in the US more than in Europe. Just watch the movie below:
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCK8l5FLJ48
In my opinion we can learn from this movie because the situation will rapidly change in the upcoming months. During the economical downturn the candidates will have to be more creative and when the economy is still growing (Eastern Europe) or will start growing again (Western Europe) recruiters will probably start using it to find candidates. Whatever is applicable to you, better be prepared.
So how to use Twitter?
Before you start I advise you to read some inspiring “success stories” by Alexa Scordato and Michael Litman. Be aware that finding a job or candidate through Twitter is not necessarily an easy job. Creating a Twitter profile in general won’t be sufficient. You will need to follow some people. Look for people that match your interest and future job. Learn from them how to communicate through Twitter. If you feel confident start sending messages related to the subject of your choice. The easiest way is to start retweeting existing Tweets (Twitter messages) or mention that you are reading a blog post. Don’t forget to include the url (shortend with a tool like http://tr.im or http://bit.ly). People tend to be more interested in Tweets with a url. You will notice that as soon as you start following people and when you create your own Tweets, people start following you as well. This is just a matter of days.
Especially in the beginning I advise to be selective about following people. Preferably follow people with a clear bio, that matches your knowledge area. I believe that there are too many people focussing on gaining as many followers as possible. For the purpose of finding a job a high quality “network” is more important.
Before I shared my first experiences through a blog post, feel free to read this post about the Twittermania.
Looking for a job needs a lot of time
You know that looking for a job consumes a lot of time. Adding Twitter to your activities will not reduce the time you need to invest. But I am rather confident that if you spend about 15 minutes a day (preferable spread over the day) your online profile and visibility will increase dramatically. Combined with a personal blog the result will be even better of course.
When preparing for a job interview, try to find the people you will meet on Twitter. Sharing some details you found there will give the interview a completely different start.
Privacy warning
One warning to to sum up with. Be aware that all the information you publish online through Twitter, blogs, etc. is visible for ever! Use these media in a professional way. I advise to read f.e. “Watch what you Tweet“.
Looking forward to meeting you online!
Feel free to follow me @PetersOpinion. You can always ask a question or raise a discussion. In general, I will reply the same (working day), unless I am very busy 😉
Make sure that you have an online profile when applying for a job @GOYELLO. We will check both your Twitter and blog! Of course we expect that you check ours as well.
A good tutorial to get started with Twitter. But though Twitter helps you to find a job it can also help you lose one , check this article out http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29796962/ 🙂
Thanks for the comment Karol. I fully agree that you need to be aware what you write online. That’s also why I added the privacy statement at the bottom of the post. Good warning!
A good tutorial to get started with Twitter. But though Twitter helps you to find a job it can also help you lose one , check this article out http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29796962/ 🙂
Thanks for the comment Karol. I fully agree that you need to be aware what you write online. That’s also why I added the privacy statement at the bottom of the post. Good warning!