Fill in your bio
You only have 160 characters for your bio, so make them count. Make it clear what you want and what value you can bring, i.e. “As a qualified social worker for x years, I'm currently looking for a position in a y type of organisation”
Use a real photo of yourself
It’s important to upload a photo on your Twitter profile and it’s just as important that it’s a photo of yourself. As hilarious as putting up a photo of a cat in a bow tie or Simon Cowell is, it doesn’t look very professional in the eyes of potential employers looking at your profile.
Follow the relevant people
Obviously if you’re using Twitter to tap into a certain job role, organisation, career or industry, it’s useful to follow tweeters associated with your target areas. There are a number of Twitter applications and directories that can help you find people in particular fields. The most established, popular and recommended one is Twellow.
Connect with people
Following people who could be beneficial to your job search won’t be of any help if they don’t know you’re there! Connect with potentially useful contacts by replying to their tweets, following tweeted links to their blog posts and leaving comments, and also tweeting them any thoughts or links that they might find interesting.
Tweet smartly
Once you’re interacting with people on Twitter and have some followers that are really listening to you, it becomes increasingly important that you tweet smartly. If you’re using Twitter as part of your job search this means giving off a professional vibe. You may only have 140 characters with which to tweet, but it’s still important to be interesting, avoid major controversy and to use correct spelling and grammar.
Offer your help
This is an important part of connecting with people and being a smart tweeter: You can show both your authenticity and your ability to fellow users by offering your help to them, be it by answering a question, voting on a poll, or even sending them a book that they’re looking for and that you have. Giving assistance by using your career expertise in particular will of course demonstrate your viability as a job candidate.
Ask for help
If people are asking for help, that of course means that you can also ask for help, especially if you’re looking for a job. Asking for help doesn’t necessarily mean coming across as desperate: it can be as simple and understated as asking a journalist who writes about your particular industry if they know of any organisations that are hiring soon.
Don’t spam
Unfortunately, as Twitter is such a popular platform, it does get its fair share of spammers. Even if you’re not intentionally spamming, other tweeters can be so sensitive to spam as to label you as a spammer and block/report you. It’s one thing to ask for help from a variety of connections on a variety of job seeking issues, but if you repeatedly address exactly the same question/request to the particular person or to the whole of Twitter, you may become a spam suspect.
Be cautious
Speaking of spam, if you do get a tweet or DM (Direct Message) from someone you haven’t been interacting with, or have never been told about, and they offer you a dream job opening, be wary. Ask yourself if what they’re saying is too good to be true and why the offer has come out of the blue. Be careful not to click on any links you don’t trust, as these can often be the main tool of phishing scams. Just as there can be non-existent, questionable, or even illegal jobs disguised as legit positions on listings websites, they can also appear on Twitter and other similar forms of social media.
Preserve your Twitter reputation
Spamming is just one way of ruining your reputation. As your online reputation as a job seeker is very important, be sure to also avoid swearing, lying, posting inappropriate photos, being rude, pestering famous (or any) tweeters and tweeting drunk.
And whether you’re looking for a new job or going through another type of career transition, don’t forget to follow us on Twitter to stay up to date with all the latest blog links and news!
