How to Use Twitter for Job Search

Did you know how to use Twitter to find your next job or first job or internship)?  Typical job search methods involves applying through job search websites and company job sites. Then conversation between you and companies occurs through phone, in-person and/or email. Now, you can add Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn as to contact employers.

In today’s job search environment, you have to expand your network beyond you circle of your friends (school, college, family).  Twitter will help you reach 2nd, 3rd degree friends and beyond. So, does LinkedIn and Facebook.

Why Twitter for Job Search

• Many recruiters actively recruit using twitter
• CEO’s, Hiring Managers, Employees, HR use Twitter
• Helps to convey message in 140 characters. Short and sweet.
• Follow anyone in your are interested-in.

How to Use Twitter

1. Create a profile with twitter handle as combination of your name
2. Start posting tweets (useful ones).
3. Find people to follow using Twitter people search, Twellow and TwitDir. [ Follow Happy Schools Blog on Twitter]
4. Follow HR, recruiters, hiring managers and friends.
5. Participate in their tweets (retweet, adding info to it, ..)

If you continue to do above steps, you can slowly build your network. If you follow someone, it will send an email notification to them.  Your profile must be attractive, so they can follow you back. Your profile should clearly say that you are looking for a job and have link to your LinkedIn profile.

If your profile looks something like

• Following – 300
• Followers – 5
• Tweets – 10

It will not fly well to someone looking at your profile.  You need to have a profile that shows you have followers and have useful and informative tweets.

Tweets and Job Hunting

If you are searching for a job in Computer Science field as Software engineer, then try to post tweets that relate to technology, news, conference, ..). Having tweets about what you had for lunch is not going to help you get followers.

By now you may have realized that its not easy to build network. When you have more than 50 followers, you have access to wider network. When you are looking for a job all you have to do is send out a tweet – something like “Looking for internship in IT company. Experience in C, C++, Java”.

If someone from your network who have more influenced and followers, if they retweet your tweet, it will reach much wider network.  Also, keep and eye out for job postings using the search feature. Search within the twitter periodically and if someone has posted a job opening, then follow them. Send them a direct message about the job opening.

Let me know if you need more information about using Twitter for job search. Above information is sufficient for you get started with Twitter and I will write more about other Twitter job search techniques in future blog posts.