Be a Professional Tweeter! Tips on Using Twitter in a Job Search
Feeling uninspired by your public interest job hunt? PSJD has a tip: try using social media to liven things up. Sure, social media is a great way to stay connected with friends, but it can also be a powerful career development tool!
Most people know the basics of using LinkedIn to advance their careers, but many may not know about using Twitter for professional purposes. Twitter provides a digital platform to expand your network, display a working knowledge relevant to a specific field, share news and developments, and cultivate your very own personal brand.
So you want to learn how? Start by checking out these “3 Bite-Size Tips for Using Twitter in a Job Search” from U.S. News & World Report (which we’ve “bitten” down even more):
Tip No. 1: Create a Twitter handle that articulates your value. This may simply mean using your name, particularly if your personal brand and unique value are highly connected to your name. So, @JaneDDoe may just be the perfect draw to brand you. However, if your brand is better exuded through a descriptive representation of what you do, whom you serve, how you serve, and so forth, then consider drawing a visual word picture. The challenge: Creating this handle to represent your brand in just a 15-character limit. But you can meet that challenge. It just takes thought and brainstorming.
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Tip No. 2: Follow a couple dozen people and begin sharing their content. This can start as simply as researching four or five of your favorite colleagues on Twitter and then following them. Tag along a few of the people they follow. Read through their tweets. Select a resonating tweet and share it using the “retweet” button. Or, better yet, create a personal introduction to the tweet and customize your share.
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Tip No. 3. Tweet your own content. Once you get the hang of tweeting, consider developing your own original tweets. If you author a blog or guest post on other blogs, then it would be natural to share that content. If this isn’t the case, then create 140-character tips that apply to your area of expertise. So, for example, if you are a sales professional, you may want to prepare a sales tip to help your followers sell better, or you could share one thing not to do when trying to close a deal. In other words, consider what’s in it for the follower before composing a tweet, then offer practical advice they can immediately implement.
Click here to read the full article. If you’re still looking for more info on using social media during the public interest job hunt, you can also check out our #PSJDChat on the same topic. Happy job hunting!