Twitter can be an important component of your efforts to find a new job opportunity. This deck includes an overview of Twitter, how it's being used both by recruiters and job seekers, and describes various tools, techniques and services to support the job search process.
5. What is Twitter?
A social network An information network
where everyday, millions of users create,
share and discover ideas
Users
• Share their experiences, both good and bad
• Provide feedback on recent events
• Learn about exclusive deals or offers
• Get customer service
6. How Does Twitter Work?
Write and read messages of up to 140
characters, including all punctuation and
spaces
Messages (tweets) are public
Decide which accounts you want to
receive messages from
10. Before You Start
Listen first
Decide how you want to engage
No account is required to search at
search.twitter.com
Search for your company, professional
interest(s), and a few key topics in your field
Filter geographically to increase relevancy
12. Getting Started With Twitter
Sign up for an account
Choose a short,
memorable name
Fill out your profile
completely and include
a picture
◦ Helps people recognize
and trust your account
13. Key Terms
A tweet is an individual message
To follow somebody is to subscribe to their
tweets
A DM (direct message) is a private message
on Twitter
To RT (retweet) is to repost a valuable
message from somebody else on Twitter and
give them credit
Trending topics are the most-discussed
terms on Twitter at any given moment
14. Twitter Lingo
@username is a public message to or
about an individual
A hashtag—the # symbol followed by a
term and included in tweets—is a way of
categorizing all the posts on a topic
Shortened URLs—To fit links into the
short messages, Twitter shrinks some
URLs down automatically
16. Twitter Overview
Your tweets make
up a timeline
Your home page
shows a list of
recent tweets by
those that you
follow
People who
subscribe to your
timeline are your
―followers‖
Following back is
optional
You can tweet or
respond publicly or
privately via DM
17. What Should You Tweet?
People like
◦ tips, links to interesting stories/blog
posts, and a good sense of humor
◦ the human touch and will appreciate
posts with your thoughts and
experiences more than you think
◦ when you say hello, and respond to their
questions, comments, praise, complaints
and jokes
19. Finding People to Follow
Use e-mail addresses from your contact
list to see who you know is already on
Twitter
Use search.twitter.com to find other
people that you know
Use twellow.com and wefollow.com
(organized by industry and interest)
◦ Look for people to follow
◦ List yourself
See who is recommended by people that
you follow (#ff, #followfriday)
22. Twitter Value Proposition
To understand the value of Twitter and gain
benefit from your involvement, give more
than you expect to receive.
Dave Taylor,
DaveTaylorOnline.com
23. Twitter Best Practices
Build relationships
◦ Listen for comments about you
◦ Respond to comments and queries
◦ Ask questions
◦ Post links to things people would find
interesting
◦ Retweet messages you would like to share
◦ Use a friendly, casual tone
◦ Don’t spam people
24. Twitter Best Practices
Be nice
◦ Acknowledge information sources
◦ Converse and connect
◦ Build a trusted group
◦ Return favors without being asked
◦ Be sensitive to others
◦ Respect everyone
29. HootSuite TweetDeck
User Interface Updating one or more multiple Keep track of multiple social networks
networks is easier in a single window
Adding URLs is easier
Scheduled Supported Not supported
Updates
Speed Web-based Memory hog
Updates less frequently
URL Shorteners Single shortener (ow.ly) 4 different shorteners supported (bit.ly)
Photos Limited to uploading a picture file Integrates with 3 different services
Statistics Detailed statistics (but only for Only available through supported URL
Twitter) shorteners (bit.ly)
Additional Social Supports multiple Twitter Supports multiple Twitter accounts,
Networks accounts, LinkedIn, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Facebook
Facebook Fan Pages, and Ping.fm
Twitter Interface URL shortener separate from Easy and fast
tweet dialog; multiple clicks for
scheduling tweets
Multiple Easy to add multiple users and Does not support multiple users per
Accounts/Users control accounts they update account
Twitter User Most of the actions are available, On any tweet, you can perform any
Features but not all action you can do from Twitter
http://sazbean.com/2010/02/04/review-tweetdeck-vs-hootsuite/
30. Twitter Mobile
Applications available for
◦ iPhone/iPod Touch
Tweetie
HootSuite
◦ Android
◦ BlackBerry
◦ Windows Phone
32. How Companies Use Twitter to Find
Candidates
Many big companies list job openings on
Twitter
Cheaper and less-crowded alternative to
job boards
Allows them to
◦ target social media-savvy job hunters
◦ convey an innovative image
33. How Candidates Use Twitter to Find
Fobs
Follow feeds that aggregate jobs from
multiple companies
Use Twitter search to research prospective
employers
Locate/connect with individuals who work
at targeted companies
Interact directly with companies' recruiters
More convenient than job boards
34. Maximizing Twitter for the Job
Search
Connect your Twitter feed to LinkedIn
Follow people in your field to be
connected and informed on industry
news and trends
Create your follower list by posting
regular updates on topics of interest
Build your network by following relevant
groups, associations and professional lists
35. Twitter – LinkedIn Integration
Twitter to LinkedIn
◦ Add your Twitter account to LinkedIn
◦ Designate which tweets are displayed as your
LinkedIn status
Twitter Settings: https://www.linkedin.com/secure/settings?twitterSettings=&
36. Twitter – LinkedIn Integration
Twitter to LinkedIn
◦ Use #in or #li hashtag
◦ Add to any part of a tweet
◦ Use at anytime; will override existing settings
37. Twitter – LinkedIn Integration
LinkedIn to Twitter
◦ Check the box next to the Twitter icon on
the LinkedIn home page
◦ Updates will be posted to Twitter
38. Maximizing Twitter for the Job
Search
Use tools such as JobDeck
◦ Allows job seekers to search specific topics
relative to an industry
Create a Twitter list
◦ Add companies you’re interested in working for
Utilize Tweetafile.com
◦ Share/send your resume when requested
Spend a minimum of15 minutes daily
◦ posting tweets
◦ reviewing comments by others in your field
41. Job-Related Twitter Feed Resources
101 Best Twitter Feeds for Job Hunters
◦ http://greengigs.blogspot.com/2009/02/101-best-twitter-feeds-
for-job-hunters.html
100 Useful Twitter Tools and Feeds for Your Job
Search
◦ http://www.jobprofiles.org/library/job-search/100-useful-
twitter.htm
101 Twitter Feeds to Help You Land a Job
◦ http://www.jobprofiles.org/library/job-
search/100_twitter_feeds_for_job_search.htm
42.
43. Thank You
David Swinney
Social Media Specialist
david.swinney@gmail.com
http://davidswinney.com
http://twitter.com/davidswinney
http://linkedin.com/in/davidswinney
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