How to Network Through Twitter to Get a Job
Simply Hired Staff
When it comes to networking platforms that could help you land that job of your dreams, candidates have a variety of professional and effective options. LinkedIn is the place to connect with movers and shakers in your specific line of work while job boards such as Simply Hired provide a static online parking spot for your resume to be viewed by potential employers.
Resourceful candidates, however, would be remiss to overlook the value of 140 turned 280 character canvas that is Twitter. Not just for stream of consciousness loving world leaders, Twitter can be an effective tool in your job-hunting and career-making arsenal…if you play your Tweets right, that is.
Stay in the Know
With leading companies increasingly using the program to communicate with their clientele, Twitter is an excellent platform for researching employers and gaining critical industry knowledge. From corporate culture to reputation branding, Twitter is a hands-on source of information that could prove useful during your interview and beyond. Follow companies you’re interested in working for, and across the field as a whole, to stay in the know and keep an ear to the ground for opportunities.
Get Out in Front of the Crowd
While following the Leader is all well and good, Twitter also provides an excellent opportunity to establish your personal credentials as a critical mind and authority in your area of expertise. Links to published articles, helpful insight, or even timely and appropriate witticisms are all big plusses for networking and attracting the attention of potential employers. Retweeting is all fine and dandy, but avoid appearing as if you’re only capable of parroting the opinions of others with original content and thoughts.
Show Off Your Expertise
Speaking of publishing original content, don’t just think in the immediate or short-term when it comes to creating your Twitter footprint. Employers will often conduct due diligence on social media accounts before making final hiring decisions on potential candidates. Expert analysis and insights that are shared via Twitter, even if they are only links to other posts, can go a long way towards establishing your credentials in your field.
Having a Twitter feed that’s relevant, professional and shows that you’re interested in more than just clocking in and out of your job can up your chances of landing that job of your dreams.
Be Careful What You Tweet
Last but not least, when it comes to using Twitter to score a job offer, take a lesson from some of today’s biggest news headlines and steer clear of anything controversial. While sharing that inappropriate bathroom-humor joke or comparing politicians or public officials to cartoon characters may be good for a short-term laugh, your ability to score a few giggles at the expense of others isn’t going to impress a hiring manager considering your application.
Uncouth or unprofessional comments on social media platforms are often areas of risk and liability for employers. The last thing a modern company needs is their trusted representative creating the next big news cycle PR scandal. Police your Twitter feed rigorously and keep an eye towards anything that may put off a potential employer less you ruin your chances at landing that job before you’re even in the door.
The bottom line is: think creatively when it comes to networking for that job in today’s modern age of social media. While Twitter is certainly a useful platform for perusing pictures of your nieces and nephews and trading drinking stories with your college roommates, the power of the platform for connecting those with common career paths and skillsets is invaluable when utilized to help locate, apply and even obtain an offer for a career-making position.
Article Updated from the Original on November 12, 2017
