By Caroline M.L. Potter, Yahoo! HotJobs
Are you on Twitter? Millions of people are, but most of them aren't using it to search for work. A recent poll revealed that only 8 percent of respondents have used Twitter to help with a job search. Don't let this valuable medium go unmined as you look for your next opportunity.
Dan Schawbel, author of Me 2.0: Build a Powerful Brand to Achieve Career Success, has tips to help you use Twitter to raise your professional profile and fast-forward your job search.
Create Your Personal Brand
"Before using any social network, create a single, unified social-media strategy, so that your brand remains consistent throughout each network that you join, including Twitter," Schawbel says. He recommends using the same professional picture/avatar and user name, a consistent bio, and a personal brand statement that explains what you do and who your audience is.
Tweak Your Twitter Home Page
Take advantage of all of Twitter's tools to make sure your Twitter home page looks professional. "Just like your other social network profiles, your Twitter profile should be completely filled out," Schawbel says. "This includes your full name, location, a biography, and -- the single most important element -- a single link to a site of your choosing. I recommend directing people to a blog, your LinkedIn profile or a site that you feel best represents you. If you really want to take your brand to the next level, then a custom Twitter backgroun...is required."
Build Your Audience
Don't think you know anyone on Twitter? Think again. "A percentage of your friends, family and previous coworkers are already on Twitter," Schawbel says. "You can easily import contacts from most Web-mail programs or find people using Twitter's search engine and invite your network onto Twitter with an email invitation. Then, use Twitter search to locate people in your industry, follow them, and interact with them through a series of tweets and 'retweets' over time."
Start Tweeting
Not sure what to tweet about? Tweet what you know, says Schawbel. "The more you tweet about what you know, the more you'll become the go-to person on that topic in the Twitterverse," he says. "The key to building an audience is to remain interesting to your current followers so that they retweet your messages and more people discover and follow you. And, again, by constantly following more people, namely the influencers in your industry, and pushing out relevant tweets, your audience will grow rapidly."
Let Folks Know You're Looking
There are a few ways to alert followers that you're in the market for a new job. "First, revise your Twitter profile to call attention to the type of job you're looking for," Schawbel says. "Second, customize your Twitter background and add in text that talks about where you're headed in your career. Finally, you can send a tweet after you've built your follower count, which states your expertise and the type of job you're looking for." To get a job you may have to help others find them, too.
Adds Boston-based Schawbel, "If you discover a job lead on Twitter and it's not related to what you want to do, passing it on is an effective way to network."
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