How to Use Twitter For Job Search

How to Use Twitter For Job Search Consider this your starting point for how to use Twitter for job search. Can you really use Twitter to help your job search? Absolutely! If I were a job seeker (and I am, because we all should be looking for our next job), this is how I would use Twitter. IDENTIFY YOUR STRATEGY Before you even create your Twitter log-in, define what your mission is for using Twitter.   Hint, to meet new people.   So who are the people you would want to meet? The movers and shakers in your industry. People who share a common interest or passion People in your city/town Recruiters Target company employees Next, think about what you will include in your profile that will help people know what you do and want to follow you or investigate your tweets. Start thinking about your personal brand and keywords people would search for to find you. If you need some help writing a long bio, check this post. How To Write A Better Bio. LOG IN AND GET STARTED Use your name for your Twitter account. You want to be remembered and found. Complete your Bio. In 2-3 sentences, how will you brand your message? It is OK to have fragmented sentences in your bio. TWEET SOMETHING RELEVANT Before you go any further, share one or two tweets. You can share an article you think is important to your next career move, you can share a link to your LinkedIn profile or something youve written on LinkedIn. Whatever you do, make sure you give people a reason to want to follow you. FIND PEOPLE TO FOLLOW Remember the list from above go follow these folks on Twitter. The movers and shakers in your industry. People who share a common interest or passion People in your city/town Recruiters Target company employees You can search Twitter for your favorite news sources and industry movers and shakers. Once youve done this, look at Twitters recommendations of people to follow. Chances are, youll see people who are in the same industry. To find people in your city, you can use Twitters Advanced Search and search by Places. If you are relocating, use your new destination. To find recruiters, you can search for that job title in their bio. In order to search bios you need to use a separate tool. Try Mozs FollowerWonk. Once you begin to find people to follow, be sure you add them to a list. This will help you see what they share more easily. You can follow this list of 50 Job Search Pros to get advice and help with your job search. CREATE LISTS Keep organized and create lists. You may want to use the list categories from above or create your own. To create a list, click on your profile picture and youll see a pulldown menu. Select Lists. You can make your list public or private. If you add people to a public list, they will receive a notification from Twitter. You can also add a description to your list. This could be helpful if you want to share your list publically. If you want to see how lists can organize the flow of tweets, go read 1 Hour A Day Marketing Strategies for Job Seekers. START RT (Retweeting) The nicest way to begin is by RTing the tweets of people you just followed.   They will usually thank you.   Consider what your response tweet will be, something complementary to warm up the connection. KEEP YOUR FOCUS It is easy to get sidetracked by posting too personal or unrelated Tweets.   Keep it professional.   Nobody really cares what you are making for dinner.   However, if youve had a great customer service experience or a really great dinner, do give credit to the store/person/establishment.   Positive nets positive! Never, ever complain. ON-GOING STRATEGY Each time you log into Twitter, consider it a challenge to Tweet, RT and Thank anyone who has RTed you. Add new people to your following every time you log in When you read an article or blog you like, see who wrote it and follow them on Twitter. You are now ready to read 11 Beginner Twitter Tips You may also want to learn about Twitter chat an open online discussion.    Twitter Chat Do You Participate? JOB SEARCH? So are you wondering where the jobs are on Twitter? Focusing on job opportunities is putting the emphasis on the wrong part of your mission in my opinion.   Your mission is to expand your network and build awareness of your talent, first and foremost. If you still want to know how to use Twitter for job search by finding posted jobs, read this: Finding Jobs On Twitter