According to the latest statistics only about 5% of the population is on Twitter. And, yet, it is being touted as one of the best places to get a job. In the past couple of days everyone from CNNMoney to the WSJ have run stories about the success the unemployed have when they just tweet away looking for work.
The WSJ explains why corporations are turning the backs on job boards and embracing the all powerful tweet.
For employers, Twitter—where users post updates, or "tweets," of no more than 140 characters—offers one more way to find and attract candidates, and a cheaper alternative to big online job boards. It also helps companies target social-media-savvy job hunters and convey an innovative image. For job seekers, Twitter offers the chance to interact one-on-one with companies' recruiters and can be more convenient than job boards.
25-year Old Renee Libby landed a job in just two months after strategically using twitter as part of her job search.
Mark S. Luckie is a journalist and until a couple of weeks ago was an unemployed journalist. He also blogs at 10,000 Words Last week he wrote a post called How Twitter Saved My Career...And My Life“I started by searching for local communications professionals in the Baltimore area,” Libby said.
To connect to others, users choose to “follow” them and then gain access to their tweets. Once someone receives an alert that they have a new follower, they often reciprocate.
Knowing potential employers might be looking, Libby kept the information on her Twitter page specific to her experience in communications and public relations so the people she followed would be encouraged to follow her in return.
Every hour or so, Libby would tweet about news or articles specific to the industry in Baltimore or send out links to the latest edition of her own column in a local publication.
Shortly thereafter, the director of public relations for Baltimore-based SPIN contacted Libby and suggested she start freelancing for the company, which she gladly did.
Only one week later, one of their associates announced that she was leaving. “[The director of public relations] immediately let me know that there would be an opening after she left in September. I came in, interviewed, and was offered the job.” Libby started Sept. 1.
In the post Luckie shares that at one time he refused to join Twitter and then after he did he wasn't very strategic with his tweets. That all changed when the journalist was laid off. Luckie says it was through Twitter that he "ramped up his job search." While he didn't find his new job on Twitter, he had this to say about the microblogging service.
Over the course of my unemployment, my Twitter account grew from roughly 2,000 followers to more than 5,000, and it was undoubtedly these impressive numbers and a demonstrated knowledge of the power of social media that played a role in my hiring and differentiated me from others with similar skills. It took being unemployed to really understand how Twitter could be used to foster community and relationships, a community that ushered me through a really dark time. Now I start a new chapter in my life and career with the cumulative knowledge and support of the Twitterverse to help me along the way. I look forward to interacting with many more of the brilliant minds on Twitter and to find even more new and exciting ways of using the service. For me, Twitter will always be both a guardian angel and one kick-ass job placement board.
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