Although LinkedIn gets all the attention in job hunting, Twitter can be very useful, too. It can help by giving you a relatively noise free way to build connections with business leaders, HR professionals, recruiters and others that help you “cut the line” and give you an advantage in your job search.
Here’s how to use Twitter to do that:
1.Join Twitter if you are not already a member (Duh!)
2. Choose keywords that are relevant to what you do. You can use Hootsuite or any other tool like it (Tweetdeck and Seesmic come to mind) to create streams to track each keyword or phrase.
3. Get in the mix.
Initially, get noticed by a key figure by engaging in a discussion or answering one of their questions, rather than send a direct message to them.
Who are these people?
People who have large followings, people who have relevant job titles for your profession or who are senior professionals at firms you want to work for. You can find out who many of these people are via Klout and WeFollow.
Retweet some of their posts to your friends and followers.
Comment positively on things they say or politely point out things they may have missed in their thinking.
Develop a relationship, don’t just simply follow them and ask them if they will hire you. Would you do that?
So make some time to set this system up.
Like creating any social media job search strategy, it may not help you with your job search this time. But may be the key to your next two job changes.
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