Asking for career-related help on Twitter

June 2, 8:39 AMEntry Level Careers ExaminerHeather Huhman

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For those not yet on Twitter, I recommend starting an account—fast. Jobs are being advertised; connections are being made. But, like everything on the Internet, you have to be careful how you behave.

I’ve written two articles before about Twitter: “Tweeting your way to a job (or internship)” and “Applying for jobs on Twitter.” But, both were aimed at how to connect with potential employers, not other individuals who may be of assistance to your search.

Often students and recent graduates direct message (“DM”) me on Twitter asking, “Do you know of any [industry] jobs/internships in [city]?” While I might, I’ve stopped replying to those requests—not because I’m mean or don’t want to help but because my time is limited and frankly, I expect more out of them.

As I explain in “Asking for career-related help respectfully,” there is a certain protocol for these things—or at least there should be. Twitter is a wonderful tool, but at some point you have to go beyond 140 characters.

Although I tend to get a little behind in e-mail, I always respond to everyone eventually. If you click on the link in my Twitter bio, my personal e-mail address is readily available. 

I think I speak for all of my fellow career experts on Twitter when I say take the time to research other ways to contact us than replying (“@”) or DMing in 140 characters or less, unless you’ve already build a good relationship with us. As both experts and mentors, we want to be found. Often times our e-mail addresses will be in that link included in our Twitter bios, or at the very least uncovered in less than five minutes doing a Google search.

We are happy to answer your questions, but we expect—and often times need—more information about you than you can possibly provide in a conversation on Twitter. This is research we shouldn’t be doing ourselves in order to help people—for free—from whom we’ve never heard before.

So, just like you wouldn’t contact a potential employer in this manner, I encourage you to build relationships with career experts and other mentors using social media tools over time and in a more personalized fashion. I think you’ll find you get better responses. 

And probably most importantly, don't forget to say "thank you" to someone who's helped you, and keep him or her up-to-date on your situation.

For the record, you can follow me on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/heatherhuhman, and my personal e-mail address is heather@heatherhuhman.com. (If you want to be included in an upcoming “Ask Heather” column, please send your e-mail to entrylevelexaminer@gmail.com.)