Twitter. A place where people update the world on the mundane occurrences of their every day lives in 140 characters or less, right? Well it doesn’t have to be – it could actually be a good place to find a job!
I’m a MSc Digital Marketing student at the University of Salford Business School and recently started employment at PushON, an award winning Digital Marketing and eCommerce agency in Manchester. How did I land this amazing opportunity I hear you ask? Why, on Twitter, of course!
In this post I will share my personal experience of how to use Twitter to find a job. It began when I shared an article about how great a job as a “Social Media Manager” sounded. That was it – I simply shared my opinion on something I was passionate about.
You might have heard some people talk about a time where products and services find you based on your interests – well that time is now! And this is how it happened on Twitter for me:
Sounds perfect! #passion4Digital #DigitalMarketin
— Jennifer Faughnan (@JennieLy) February 14, 2016
Six Degrees of Separation
All people on earth are connected via six degrees of separation. Is it really true? Does this mean that we are only six connections away from our next employer on Twitter?
So, the only thing we need is to have someone who could introduce us to one another – a weak tie?
My lecturer, Aleksej Heinze, with whom I engage with on Twitter, is a perfect weak tie. We use the #passion4digital hashtag for our course, and he jumped in and suggested a role that I may be interested in at local digital marketing agency. We discussed the role – all on Twitter – and identified that I was not quite there with my work experience – yet. However, our discussion caught the attention of Roy Wilding, Creative Director at PushON – he is a random acquaintance of Aleksej:
@AleksejHeinze @JennieLy apologies for hijacking the thread but we have roles @PushONltd that might suit https://t.co/dZS6TYibxU
— Roy Wilding (@RoyWilding) February 16, 2016
At which point I spoke to Roy via direct message and was offered an interview the next day!
That’s all well and good, but how does this help you? I know it seems that this opportunity was a stroke of luck, but I promise you it was not. In my case, the six degrees of separation was only one acquaintance away, though there was a lot of preparatory work before this.
Search and Social Media Module
I’ve always been fairly active on Twitter and conscious of how I appeared online. Though it wasn’t until I took the Search and Social Media module as part of my MSc Digital Marketing, that I learnt how to truly optimise my personal brand, and I began actively utilising Twitter.
Not sure what that means? This video gives you an idea what personal branding online means:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9LYw0mgtn4
What is YOUR Personal Brand?
Twitter is a great tool for developing your brand image.
“But I don’t have a ‘brand’, I’m just me!’
Not true at all! Everything you do online contributes to your brand. Have you ever googled yourself? Give it a go.
Did you know that recruiters actively search on Twitter for relevant candidates? The way you present yourself online can affect your job prospects.
What would your dream employers find if they googled you? A hard working individual passionate about their industry? Or an individual who complains about their job, their life and spends far too much time drinking, with embarrassing images showcasing their lack of decorum?
Personal Branding Online – My Top Tips
How to use Twitter to find a job (CC) by Corey Dahl
It’s not too late though! You can optimise your personal digital profiles at any point.
Key things to consider:
- Use the same professional looking image across all channels
- Use relevant industry keywords (or hashtags) in your bios and content where appropriate
- Regularly search yourself in a search engine and identify any content that might not be appropriate and consider removing it
- Set up talkwalker alerts and Google alerts for your name
- Remove/change privacy settings on incriminating content
- Regularly engage on professional social media channels, such as Twitter and LinkedIn, and also in relevant industry groups and communities. For example, if you are interested in digital marketing – follow the #passion4digital hashtag on Twitter!
What is Engagement on Twitter?
It’s when you like, reply, mention or retweet someone on Twitter. New to Twitter? There are a number of online resouces on how to use Twitter available to give you a hand with this, such as this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9CVY3pp91Dc
Why is it Important?
It gets you and your content seen! It’s important for developing your brand image. People don’t notice you because you have lots of followers, they notice what your post and who you talk to – look at me I shared a post that I liked, engaged in a conversation and here we are!
I regularly engage with my lecturers and other influencers in my industry – they are the “weak ties” of your network which have the highest level of benefit to you! You should too! Twitter chats are another great way to engage with influencers and others interested in your industry!
Sharing Content
Regularly reading and sharing content on Twitter is important, though it helps if you also add your own thoughts to show that you’re also a thought leader. Follow people that create and share good content, regularly read publications that are relevant to your brand and even create on your own blogs if you have something to say!
Here you go – these are my thoughts on how to use Twitter to find a job – do you have any recommendations / comments? Please use comments section below or tweet me Twitter.
To get started you could even share this post!