By CAREEREALISM-Approved Expert, Rosa E. VargasThe value of your tweets. Now that you have set up your Twitter account, what do you tweet in order to get closer to an actual job lead? There are many steps you can take to job search via Twitter but in this blog post I will focus on your tweets' content because a great tweet can propel you closer to a job -- a bad tweet can help you lose the job you currently have…AND QUICKLY!
Micro blogging as part of your job search toolkit. Project and strengthen your professionalism, brand, and expertise. If you provide valuable and spot-on content, you will gain influential followers. If your Twitter "followers" find your content useful and insightful, they may recommend others follow you or better yet (RT) re-tweet you, helping you expand your reach and networking possibilities.
Don't tweet anything you would not say in person to your future boss. For some odd reason people share more than they should via their tweets. You should be even more cautious because what goes online stays online, forever! Be tactful and remember employers will Google you!
Stay on topic and provide useful content. Say you are seeking employment as a Pediatric RN, stay on that subject. Tweet about an article you wrote regarding healthcare, your thoughts on excellent pediatric care, provide advice, and share links to interesting on-topic blog posts. You may even tweet a job lead you did not pursue. Don't. Please. Don’t start tweeting about…say…your trip to the grocery store or about your romantic relationships. (I know the little Twitter box request “What’s happening” but don’t literally answer that!) Sure, engage in conversation but at all times be cognizant of what you’re discussing.
Incorporate keywords in your tweets. Include jargon/keywords specific to your target industry. Your tweets will become pages on the Internet and so be sure to optimize your job search tweets for the web. What are keywords? Keywords are industry-specific nouns and noun phrases such as tech skills and job titles. However, perhaps the most imperative reason for incorporating keywords in your tweet is so…your tweets help shape or fortify your expertise!Hash tags. Adding a hash tag (#) to your industry keyword (e.g., #nurse, #CEO, #sourcing manager, etc.) will help professionals within your industry find you when they conduct an on-topic search.
Sample Keywords and Hash Tags in Tweets:
#Nursing advice: age-appropriate bedside care is even more important when dealing with #pediatric patients.
#Sales #management: a client-focused presentation is the key in closing deals in a tough economy.
#Webdesign: beautiful layouts that are also search engine friendly are essential for great #SEO.
You should aim to keep tweets even shorter than the allowed 140 characters in order to encourage re-tweets (RTs). If someone does not have to edit your tweet in order to re-tweet it, then that person is more likely to! More RTs means more people will learn you are job searching.
Enjoying this article? You could get the best career advice daily by subscribing to us via e-mail.Re-tweets brand you too. Once you RT a message, this tweet becomes part of your Twitter stream, so be selective. What you choose to re-tweet demonstrates your thought process, your decision-making, and illustrates what captures your attention. (I know, Twitter is supposed to be fun, but creating career opportunities in such a challenging job market is work...and a strategic endeavor.)Tweet your resume in moderation. Yes, you are on Twitter to job search -- I understand. Yet, don’t tweet your resume with every other tweet. Hold back a bit. Find folks to follow, share tweets, gain followers, network, re-tweet others, and then tweet your resume once a week and ask others to RT it. People help those they like -- not those that annoy them or seem blatantly opportunistic. It is “social” networking so please implement social etiquette.
The ideal situation would be for you to provide a link from your Twitter bio to your resume (on LinkedIn or VisualCV.com) and as you tweet brilliant information, engage your ‘tweople,’ become valuable to your ‘twittersphere,’ your ‘followers’ will be interested enough to click on that link to your resume.
Twitter is just one tool. Twitter is one method for you to go about networking and creating your own job opportunities. Twitter is another channel for you to expand your reach and concurrently build or reinforce your brand as an expert. Don't ever sit back and wait for someone to magically tweet a great lead for you. Just like your resume, cover letter, and other career marketing tools -- Twitter is just one tool.
Did you enjoy this article? Read more articles by this expert here.Rosa Elizabeth Vargas is a job search strategist who is Quadruple-certified as an (MRW) Master Resume Writer, (CERW) Certified Expert Resume Writer, (NCRW) Nationally Certified, and (ACRW) Academy Certified Resume Writer. Additional qualifications include job search coaching and social media consulting. She has been helping job hunters since 2003 as owner of Creating Prints Resume Service, leveraging an accomplished 10-year career background as a Leader/Senior Manager, which included interviewing, hiring, training, and building strong and competent teams. You can find her on Twitter at @resumeservice.The photo for this article is provided by Shutterstock.
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Is your job search turning into a grind with no end in sight? It may be time to take a step back and reevaluate your entire approach.
In cold weather climates, the beginning of spring is a time to clean the house and get organized—a practice known as spring cleaning. Through the years, spring cleaning has taken on a larger meaning with people using the time to organize and declutter things in their lives.
For professionals on the job hunt, a little spring cleaning (metaphorically speaking) could be a great way to reinvigorate your job search. Here are a few strategies your job search spring cleaning should include.
Reevaluate Your Job Search Approach
BigstockMake a list of the last handful of jobs you applied for and see if you can identify any positive or negative trends. Consider things like:
- How did I learn about this job?
- How did I apply for the job?
- Did I earn an interview?
- What was the ultimate result?
A lot can be learned about your job search approach just by answering these questions and identifying patterns. For example:
Negative Trends
You discovered five jobs through job boards, applied to all of them via the job boards, and never heard back from any of them.
The common pattern here is applying through job boards. This isn't to say that job boards don't serve a purpose in the job search process, but they have their limitations, and you can't run your job search entirely off of them. When you apply through a job board, there's a good chance that your materials will never get past the applicant tracking system (ATS) and never be seen by an actual person.
One simple fix is to research who the hiring manager or recruiter is that posted the position and email your materials to them directly.
The more efficient fix would be to take a proactive approach by putting together a bucket list of companies that you want to work for and start making connections on LinkedIn with people who work at those companies. You may already know some people who work there or have connections that can refer you to some individuals.
This is a great way to network your way onto a company's radar.
Positive Trends
You applied to three jobs via referral, were invited to two job interviews, and made it through multiple rounds of interviews for one of the jobs before being passed over for someone with a little more experience.
The pattern here is that getting referred to a job by a professional acquaintance is a great way to land a job interview. This indicates that you're leveraging your network well and you should continue to focus on your networking efforts.
The next step is to review the interview process and determine what went well and what needs to be improved. Sometimes the interviewer will provide feedback, and that feedback can be valuable. However, not everyone is comfortable with giving feedback.
Chances are you probably have a good idea about areas of improvement and the skills you need to gain. Put together a plan for addressing those shortfalls.
The good news in making it deep into any interview process is that it indicates that the company likes you as a potential employee (even if the timing just wasn't right) and the experience could be a roadmap to a job with that company at a later date, or another similar opportunity elsewhere.
Give Your Resume & Cover Letter Some Much-Needed Attention
BigstockAre you continuously sending similar resumes and cover letters to each job opening with only minor adjustments? If so, your strategy needs some serious spring cleaning.
Let's start with resumes!
Every resume should be tailored to the position in order for it to stand out to recruiters and hiring managers. It may seem like a lot of work, but it's actually less work than submitting the same resume over and over again and never hearing back.
The reason why it's so important to tailor your resume is that throughout your career, you acquire numerous skills, but the job you're applying for may only be focusing on 6-8 of those skills. In that case, those skills must rise to the top of the resume with quantifiable examples of how you successfully used those skills at previous jobs.
Remember, recruiters go through hundreds of resumes. They need to be able to tell from a quick glance whether or not you're a potential candidate for the position.
While updating your resume, you could also spruce up your LinkedIn profile by highlighting the skill sets that you want to be noticed for by recruiters.
As for writing a good cover letter, the key to success is writing a disruptive cover letter. When you write a disruptive cover letter, you're basically telling a story. The story should focus on how you connect with the particular company and job position. The story could also focus on your personal journey, and how you got to where you currently are in your career.
If your resumes and cover letters aren't unique, now is the time to clean things up and get on track.
Build Your Personal Brand
Just because you're looking for work doesn't mean that you don't have anything to offer. Use previous career experiences and passions to build your personal brand.
Ask yourself, "How do I want other professionals to view me?"
Pick an area of expertise and start sharing your knowledge and experience with your professional network by pushing out content on your LinkedIn and social media accounts. Good content can include blogs, social media posts, and videos.
By sharing content about your experiences and passions, you slowly build your personal brand, and others will start to notice. The content could lead to good discussions with others in your network. It could also lead to reconnecting with connections that you haven't spoken to in years, or making new connections.
You never know when one of these connections could turn into a job lead or referral. The trick is to get on people's radars. So, when you're cleaning up your job search, be sure to build a plan for personal branding.
Maintain Healthy Habits During Your Job Search
BigstockYour job search is important, but it's even more important to know when to pull back and focus on personal health and spending time with family and friends.
There are actually things that you can do for your own enjoyment that could help your job search in the long run, such as:
- Grab coffee with a friend - It's good to engage in light conversation with friends during challenging times. And if your job search does come up, remember that most people have been through it themselves and you never know when a friend may provide you with a good idea or lead on a job.
- Volunteer - Volunteering is a great way to get involved in the community and help others. In addition, if you develop a little bit of a career gap while looking for a job, you can always talk about how you filled that time volunteering, if you're asked about it during a job interview.
- Continue to focus on other passions - Are you a fitness nut? Blogger? Crafter? Continue to do the things that bring you happiness. And if you're in a position to profit from your passion through a freelance job or side hustle, even better!
Spring is the perfect time to clean up and improve your job search so you can land the job you want. If you're struggling to find a job, follow the tips above to reinvigorate your job search—and watch your career blossom!
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This article was originally published at an earlier date.
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