Have you just graduated from university? If you have you’re probably very familiar with social media networks like Facebook, Twitter and, now, Google+ and use them on a daily basis. Now that you’re heading out into the job market for the first time, did you realise that Twitter can be incredibly valuable in your job search as well as your social life? Every job seeker needs to be changing the way in which they use social media. But shifting from using social media as, well, a social tool to a professional one isn’t always effortless.
Here are our top tips to help you use Twitter as a job seeking tool:
Although it hasn’t replaced much-loved Facebook, at university Twitter really grew on students as a social networking tool. It’s great for following favourite celebrities, finding out breaking news because you don’t have a television, and most of all seeing what your friends were up to. Now you have graduated, Twitter is no longer just for following your favourite bands and actors, it’s time to step up and use Twitter to help you on your way to finding a job!
Get Professional
You may not be ready to stop following Brad Pitt or Angelina Jolie, so a great option is to create a new Twitter handle just for your job seeking. This way you can still have your own personal Twitter account, but not worry about prospective employers seeing it. When creating your new handle, make sure to keep it professional and use your real name, no more ‘@hot_stuff’ please! It’s time to realise that Twitter is going to help you get your job so it must be professional!
Once you have created your new handle, it’s time to think about who you should be following.
Who to Follow
If you don’t know what type of job you are interested in, Twitter can be a great help. There are a vast amount of job recruitment / job seeking websites out there that use Twitter. At Simply Hired we use our Twitter feed (@SimplyHiredUK) to tweet about employment news stories as well as to tweet tips to help job seekers. Follow job sites on Twitter and you will find out about job opportunities and different employment sectors.
If you know what job industry excites you, start following anything in relation to the field. Twitter is a great way to get insight into job sectors through news stories and what influential people in the market are tweeting about. Most national newspapers have separate Twitter handles for different types of news, for example The Daily Telegraph has a @TeleFinance handle which tweets financial news. Make sure to follow the most relevant news to the industry you are interested in. Specific journalists will work in different industries so whilst looking in newspapers and reading relevant stories, take a look at the journalist that wrote it and follow them on Twitter too. You will then be able to stay on top of the industry news.
Start following companies that you are interested in working for. Companies often tweet about open roles which you can apply for. Companies also understand the increasing importance in social media and will be trying to really integrate onto platforms such as Twitter. By following companies you are interested in, you will gain some great insight which will really help you when you begin interviewing. Many graduates out there are still not using Twitter so if you jump on the bandwagon you will really stand out at an interview.
Tweet
You need to become vocal and tweet away! This may seem daunting when you are following high profile companies or important journalists. A great way to get yourself recognised whilst not feeling scared to press ‘send’ on your tweet, is to retweet. If you see a relevant news story or a Tweet from a company you are interested in, retweet it. Make sure to include your own comment such as ‘look at this great story’ or include your opinion on a piece. Companies will see that you have retweeted their tweets and if you are clever about it, you will be sure to get yourself noticed!
When you first start out on Twitter it is acceptable to be a ‘listener’ but you need to become vocal in order for Twitter to really help you on your job hunt! Start self-promoting by tweeting about worthwhile things you have done, and if you are really bold; you could try to grab the attention of your dream employer through Twitter by mentioning them in tweets!
Organisation is Key!
Twitter can get overwhelming if you don’t keep on top of who you follow and what’s being tweeted about! Keep yourself organised by using Twitter Lists and a dashboard like HootSuite or TweetDeck. You can also use tools like TwitJobSearch to search for jobs posted on Twitter.
Social media is your key to finding a job in the current climate. It has been reported that online recruitment is on the rise, we are no longer looking in newspapers to find our jobs. Twitter is an amazing tool for self promotion, networking and job seeking. It’s time to boost your online presence and get savvy with social media!
