Twitter can play a powerful role in helping people achieve their job search and career goals. It can help them find jobs; expand their visibility; and connect with employers, recruiters, industry-leaders and like-minded professionals. Yet many people hesitate to join the Twittersphere because they have no idea what type of information they should be tweeting.
In the new book Find a Job Through Social Networking, career management consultants Diane Crompton and Ellen Sautter demystify Twitter to give people a better understanding of how tweets can help and hinder them from getting ahead professionally. They explain that tweets should be positive, polite and relevant to the user’s objective(s).
“For example, rather than tweeting something such as ‘I desperately need a cup of coffee,’ post a message that can be of value to others. You’ll gain a lot more from Twitter if you tweet about topics you are interested in and knowledgeable and passionate about.”
Here are several topics Crompton and Sautter recommend for keeping tweets on-brand, appropriate, and engaging:
- Events related to your field
- Industry trends
- The type of work and job you are targeting (if you are currently looking for a job)
- Something interesting you read, be it a book or a blog post, related to your professional area of expertise (just make sure to include a shortened link)
- A recent accomplishment
- Resources that have been helpful to you
- A thank-you to someone for their efforts
- Your interests and “on-brand” activities (for example, “volunteering to manage a project, love leading a team toward a common goal”)
- Work-related stories that support your professional brand
- New skills or information you have learned
- A request for advice or information (you can preface your tweets with “looking for” or “need help with”).
“The great thing about Twitter is that your tweets can go viral and spread quickly to lots of people—that’s also the bad thing about Twitter,” explain Crompton and Sautter. “Tweets are a public record, an information stream that can be picked up by Google and other search engines. Because of this, you’ll want to make sure that your tweets are messages that are okay to live on as a permanent cyber trail created by you.”
Find a Job Through Social Networking was published this month and is available at Amazon, in all major bookstores, and from the publisher (www.jist.com).
See also: The power of social networking for job search and career success
About the Authors
Diane Crompton and Ellen Sautter are career management consultants and have nearly 40 years of combined experience in the career-transition industry. Both reside in Atlanta, Georgia, and have coached professionals at all levels from a wide range of functional and industry backgrounds and with varying career objectives, including self-employment.
------------------
About this Examiner: Kathryn Marion is the award-winning author of GRADS: TAKE CHARGE of Your First Year After College!, the most comprehensive resource for navigating the world of work and independent living after graduation, as well as host of the book’s companion resource site, www.GradsTakeCharge.com. The print edition of GRADS: TAKE CHARGE is available through Amazon and other online booksellers. The e-book edition is available through e-junkie.
Kathryn also coaches students, graduates, and career changers as well as consults with small businesses and aspiring authors. Follow her other Examiner columns: College-to-Career and Life After College.
Find more of Kathryn’s articlesas well as thousands of others on every self-improvement topic imaginable at SelfGrowth.com.
Comments