plus 1, Tweet your resume to help job search, networking - St. Petersburg Times

Tweet your resume to help job search, networking - St. Petersburg Times

Posted: 06 Mar 2010 05:00 AM PST

Erin Conroy, Associated Press
In Print: Sunday, March 7, 2010

Can you keep your resume under 140 characters?

You may be able to tweet your way into a new career, according to Susan Britton Whitcomb, Deb Dib and Chandlee Bryan, co-authors of recently published book The Twitter Job Search Guide. The micro-blogging Web site is changing how people hunt for work, they said.

"In the past, you had to go through a maze of gatekeepers to get to the cloistered person in charge of hiring decisions," Britton Whitcomb said. "Now you can have access to them with the click of a 'Follow' button. The ability to level the playing field — placing you nearly peer-to-peer with influencers, leaders and hiring authorities — is extremely powerful."

The authors give these tips for your short and sweet, real-time job search:

Active participation is essential. Take the time to regularly expand your network and engage others. Building relationships online requires patience, but you should be able to enhance your reputation and develop a fan base using just 15 minutes a day.

Be transparent when reaching out to a hiring manager or person with influence about a job, but make sure the relationship is give-and-take in some way. Don't just ask them to give you a position. Instead, give advice or demonstrate expertise on a subject that matters to them, and let them know you're looking for work.

Be sure to post regular updates about your job search, and acknowledge those who are helping you along the way.

Be specific when it comes to your career objectives, skills, interests and your brand.

"Successful job seekers have a distinct brand that helps their networking contacts and prospective employers get a quick picture of who they are, how they work and how their talents would bring value to the table," Dib said.

[Last modified: Mar 06, 2010 08:01 AM]

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Mason-Griffin takes control - Tulsa World

Posted: 06 Mar 2010 06:55 AM PST

NORMAN — Today at the Lloyd Noble Center will be about reflection, a look back on the careers of seniors Tony Crocker, Ryan Wright and Beau Gerber as they play their final home game and move beyond Oklahoma basketball.

Perhaps, though, it's a better time to peer forward. Not just because OU is 13-16 coming into today's matchup with No. 23 Texas A&M, and that a win would clinch ninth place in the final Big 12 Conference standings.

It's more about next season. For if this was Crocker's team, or Willie Warren's before his season was derailed by an ankle injury, it is about to become someone else's.

Tommy Mason-Griffin's.

"Going into next year, he's got to be the guy to get players going around him," Crocker said of the freshman point guard. "He's really good. Towards the end of the season, he came around a lot. Now teams are game-planning around him, so it's going to be tougher. But that's somebody you can build this team around."

In a sense, that has already happened. Mason-Griffin has more points and assists, and owns a higher field goal, free throw and 3-point percentage, than any other Sooner in Big 12 games. He has also played more minutes than anybody on any team in the conference — 570 out of a possible 605.

"I think he's handled (the load) well," Capel said. "He's had to."

There is no backup point guard. And with Warren out half of OU's Big 12 season, there has been no real alternative in terms of offensive production. You could even say this has been Mason-Griffin's team since, one game into Warren's absence, Capel gathered his players before facing Iowa State Jan. 27, and predicted OU would win because Mason-Griffin would lead the way.

The kid poured in a career-high 38 points to go with six assists. The Sooners prevailed. And if some were stunned by this development, others who knew better weren't.

"I always knew Tommy was a leader. He's been a leader since the eighth grade playing on my AAU team," said fellow OU freshman Tiny Gallon. "Him coming up here behind Willie, he really couldn't show his leadership. Now that Willie's out, Tommy has stepped up and showed that he can a leader for us."

"It clicks with some people and you're like, 'They've just got it,' " said Marland Lowe, Mason-Griffin's coach for the Houston Hoops AAU team. "He's always had it. I knew it when I first saw Tommy when he was in the second grade. He was 8 years old, but even then he was always a step ahead. I remember hoping it wouldn't run out, and it hasn't."

There is still much for Mason-Griffin to learn.

"To me, the only thing all great point guards are judged by is winning. They do whatever it takes to help their team win," Capel said. "If that's scoring, you score. If it's just running the team... I thought a perfect example of that was Tweety Carter. He did a good job of understanding who was scoring for them. That's an area where Tommy has to grow. He has to be better at understanding difference intracies of the game from that position, and having a better feel for certain things as the game's going on."

Mason-Griffin says he and Capel communicate about that after every game.

"(Capel) says I've been doing my job, but at the same time I'm not doing my job. We're playing good, but we're not winning," Mason-Griffin said. "I need to find out what I'm doing wrong to lead my team to more victories."

Guerin Emig 581-8355
guerin.emig@tulsaworld.com

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