Top Ten Twitter Tips to enhance your job search

Twitter – A tremendous tool for job success

According to the latest Jobvite survey over 55% of recruiters and 40% of job seekers have actively engaged in Twitter for job search. How about you? Twitter is one of the most popular, social networking websites with more than 20 million active users. These also include the very recruiters, hiring managers and the CEOs of the companies that you wish to work for. With its popularity continuing to rise, here are ten creative ways Twitter can help you with your job search strategy and online branding.

1. Build.
Getting started is easy. Set up a free profile on Twitter.com. Write a compelling, keyword rich introduction, with preferably the same professional image that’s on LinkedIn, for consistency. And, add a link to your resume, portfolio or blog on your Twitter profile.

2. Connect. 
Shortlist the top five to ten companies that you wish to work for. Follow them and also follow influencers and key people working for each target company. You can also try to search “their name + Twitter” in Google for effective results. As a next step, you can begin to share what they say through re-tweets.

3. Engage. 
Pay attention to what those influencers are saying and what they’re sharing. Brush up on tips about why people follow on Twitter to improve your odds of them following you back. Now get in conversations with the influencers, ask intelligent questions, follow up with links to your best work., offer help and re-tweet the good information you see.

4. Tweet. 
Post intelligent, industry-relevant Tweets to demonstrate your skills, abilities, knowledge, and separate yourself from the competition. Don’t just re-tweet what others are saying; create meaningful content that people care about. Be a thought leader. Similar to how Google indexes your Tweets in the same way indexes your LinkedIn profile and Blogs.

5. Share. 
Share content that is valuable. The more relevant contributions you make, the more others will want to continue to follow you. Show what you are passionate about to give recruiters an idea of your personality. Keep your conversations focused on your area of expertise, or job search topics. Participate by joining hashtag discussions related to your field.

6. Search. 
With recruiters and hiring managers across the globe posting jobs on Twitter, it is now serving as a mini job board. You can go to the Twitter search box and search for the roles you are interested in, find the relevant Tweets and then follow the links provided to learn more about the open positions.

7: Read. 
Hundreds of Career Experts regularly post advice and links to job search resources on Twitter. The quickest way to find these experts is to use the Twitter Search function and enter the hashtag #jobsearch, #career or #jobseeker. The amount of excellent ideas, tips, leads, news, informative articles, and best practices going by all day long is amazing.

8. Absorb. 
Directly connect with companies and people that you want to work for. Find companies and people using Tweepsearch and follow them. Read their Tweets, respond and share. Many companies have job-related Twitter handles and following those is a great way to keep tabs on job openings.

9. Comprehend. 
Knowledge is power. Regularly follow the news items, trends and industry chatter on Twitter. You can become much better versed in your field and with the new and valuable information. And when you eventually get an interview with one of the companies that you are following, you will be much more prepared in the interview conversations.

10: Excel. 
Take advantage of Twitter’s unique open platform. Twitter’s openness makes it a useful platform for showcasing your talents, personality and interests. Recruiters can get an idea of who you are, and if you would be a good fit at their company. It’s not just about the transparency of candidates but companies as well.

Twitter can be a tremendous tool to build social credibility during a job search and help you establish a strong online reputation. The reputation you build on Twitter, just like the any other site will greatly aid your chances of finding the right position. Go on, have fun and start making your mark online in less than 140 characters.