Social media platforms play a significant role in today’s job market. Even if you are not using it to find and occupy a new position, the recruiters certainly scan your online image before they decide to employ you.
So, you might as well make the best of it, right? In this article, we will discuss how Twitter can help you bolster your career and how you can use the platform to your advantage.
How Does Twitter Help?
Some of you might be already well-versed in the ways of Twitter. Others might not even have an account. So, let us begin with the basics.
Twitter is designed to provide small bites of information, specifically 280 characters. As a result, businesses and individuals have adopted micro-blogging strategies to use Twitter for promotions. The hashtag search tool is particularly beneficial to find information on this platform.
In simple terms, Twitter can help you find other opportunities, and you can advertise yourself to get your qualification and skills noticed.
Clean Up Your Profile
One of the first things is to make sure that your Twitter profile looks professional on all fronts. You might want to go all the way back and make sure that you haven’t posted something in the past that you don’t want your employer to see today.
That said, bear in mind that Twitter will not replace your resume. So, you can keep things informal and showcase your personality as well. If you need some guidance, you can find professionals who can help writing a CV for your Twitter bio. You should mention your accomplishments and experience without making it look too boastful.
In addition to this, you will want to change your DM settings to make sure that anyone can send you a message. This way, if recruiters or possible new contacts want to initiate a conversation, they can. The last step of setting up your account is to link your LinkedIn profile or your personal website (if you have any).
When Tweeting
Remember, now you are using Twitter as a professional platform. Hence, you should not be recycling content from other places, which is not likely to help your career. You are now, essentially, selling yourself, and whatever you post becomes a part of your brand.
Start with things that are related to your career field and your experiences. However, make sure that you avoid the following:
- posting without thinking about how the message would be received and perceived by others;
- talking only about yourself all the time or being too self-promotional;
- speaking of a topic as an authority if you aren’t one – this can even harm your reputation in the long run.
That said, do not forget to retweet another Twitter user or quote them. This can even open new doors to networking with others.
Use Hashtag to Your Advantage
The easiest way to find what you are looking for on Twitter is to use hashtags. Similarly, you should include them in your posts to increase their visibility. Put otherwise, if you tweet about the latest #cryptonews, others searching for that hashtag will be able to find your tweet.
So, if you want to stay active, you can look for hashtags that are currently trending and feature high volumes. In addition to this, companies and individuals might have developed their own hashtags for events or virtual meetups, which can be handy in discovering new connections.
All that being said, do not use too many hashtags just to get attention. You do not want to spam your posts this way. Often, it is best to stick to the most relevant ones.
Interact and Engage
While following others on Twitter is one way to stay on track, that alone won’t allow you to achieve much. You also need to start building professional relationships with others by commenting on the content they share or retweeting, as we discussed earlier.
Unlike other platforms such as LinkedIn, Twitter is almost always about staying active on the site. This means that you should be tweeting at least once a day. This does not mean that you have to be creative and innovative every single day. Instead, you can retweet others and add a line or two of your own thoughts.
Whoever posted it will be thankful for the exposure and might even respond, and bam! You have done your networking for the day.
You can also take part in Twitter chats, which are scheduled conversations that are often hosted by the same accounts. These are designated by a hashtag and discuss a single broad topic. You can look for some that are relevant to your career field to get involved and connect with others.
Search for Jobs
Let’s say you intend to shift your job. Twitter can help you with that as well. To begin with, there are dozens of accounts that serve as job boards for practically any sector you can imagine.
You can find these by doing a quick search on the platform. For instance, you can search for “marketing jobs,” “data analysis jobs,” and such. Some accounts might not be showing you the specific roles but can redirect you to the official websites where you can find more information.
Secondly, you can have accounts of companies and recruiters. Both these parties are likely to post about new openings coming along their way. In fact, larger organizations might have even set up separate profiles just to share new positions opening up. If you think you are a potential applicant, do not hesitate to feature your key skills on your Twitter bio.
Attract Attention From Other Accounts
So, we discussed that you could share and comment on others’ posts to garner their attention. Twitter also presents you with another option, and the platform lets you build lists of people that you want to follow closely.
And the best part is, these can be public or private. If you have set it to the public, others can see who is on your list and even whether they are in it. We suggest that you create a list of the people you admire in your industry and let them know that you have added them to your list.
This might encourage them to check out your profile and even start a conversation with you. After all, there is no harm in trying, right?
Use Twitter to Prepare for the Interview
Twitter can help you tremendously with your job interview preparation. You can use the company’s profile to learn things about their latest projects, developments, and trends. You can also check out the hiring managers’ profiles to do some background research in case their profile is set to public.
However, it would be best not to follow a recruiter you have an interview with, as it might be considered inappropriate.
Strive to Learn
As it goes, networking can only get you so far. If you want to get ahead in your career, you should constantly polish your skills, and Twitter can be a great learning place.
In fact, the tweets you come across can often teach you something or include links that are relevant to your job sector. Additionally, platforms like Indeed and The Muse offer great job search tips via their Twitter accounts, updates on recruitment, and more.
You should think of Twitter as a platform for professional development in multiple ways, not simply as a job search or entertainment platform.
About the Author
Gloria Lunsford is an established Content Writer at ResumeService24 with more than five years of experience in the resume writing service industry. Her primary specialization is English and Marketing, but she writes on a great number of other topics.
OanLena says
Thanks for reading! Hope you found this article helpful.