plus 1, Tweet your way to a job, better career - Atlanta Journal Constitution

Tweet your way to a job, better career - Atlanta Journal Constitution

Posted: 20 Jan 2011 05:43 AM PST

By Laura Raines

For the AJC

Can you tweet your way to a new job?

Leita Cowart, Special Diane Crompton (left) and Ellen Sautter, both of Right Management, are the co-authors of "Find a Job Through Social Networking."

A few years ago, Atlanta career advisers and social media experts Diane Crompton and Ellen Sautter would have been skeptical. Now their latest book, "Find a Job Through Social Networking: Use LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Blogs and More to Advance Your Career" (Jist Works, 2010), advocates just that.

"LinkedIn was launched in 2003, and by early 2004, we had started to hear a buzz about it from our candidates. We saw its potential to help people in their job search," said Sautter, a senior career management consultant with Right Management. "LinkedIn now has about 85 million users. Twitter didn't start until 2006 but has grown faster. It has 175 million users, which speaks to its popularity and success."

A colleague told Crompton that Twitter was worth a look as a useful job-search and career management tool.

"Like many people, my attitude about Twitter has gone from eye-rolling to enthusiasm. After Linked-In, it's become our second recommended tool for job seekers. We've seen its power if used correctly," said Crompton, a social media and personal branding strategist with Right Management and her own consulting company.

Unlike LinkedIn, which is more formal and requires reciprocal buy-in for people to establish relationships, there's an easy accessibility to Twitter. Tweets are short (140 characters), to-the-point bits of data.

"You could follow someone you are interested in and learn a lot. It could start out as a one-way street and be valuable, but we've heard some incredible stories of how people started following thought leaders in their field and ended up engaging with them and forming relationships," she said.

Twitter can provide inside information about companies, people and industries. It can get you past the gatekeepers to reach hiring managers, decision-makers, recruiters and influencers. It can amplify your personal brand, take your network global, give you access to cutting-edge knowledge and resources, and showcase your credibility and marketability.

Because employers are using social media to find and check out talent, it can get you into the hidden job market of positions not posted.

Sautter notes that its 24/7 real-time stream of information from a globally diverse population makes it a rich place to do business.

"Research shows that 70 to 80 percent of jobs come from networking, and we're hearing that almost half of those come through social media now," said Sautter. "The business landscape has changed, and you always need a network. Even if you're not job seeking, you need it for your own development. Companies are training less and less, so you need sources of information that will help you keep your skills sharp."

With more than 65 million tweets written every day, launching yourself into the stream can be intimidating.

"Start by listening, monitoring and observing Twitter sites that are of career or personal interest to see what a conversation is like," said Barb Giamanco, CEO of Talent Builders Inc., sales and social media consultant and co-author of "The New Handshake: Sales Meets Social Media" (Praeger, 2010). "Before you begin responding to others or creating your own tweets, be clear about what you want to say and why. Establish your purpose and plan, and know your target audience. Know what you want to be known for."

Giamanco tells job seekers that tweeting shouldn't be about selling themselves. It should be about creating an impression of the value they hold for employers and colleagues. They're showing what they bring to the table.

"Enter with a giving and receiving attitude, not a selling attitude," she said. "Don't put on your profile that you're looking for that next great opportunity — it's a cliché, and if it's still there a year later, you'll look desperate," she said.

Crompton tweets about three primary themes that are part of her career brand and expertise: social media, career management and personal branding.

"Keeping it to those themes gives me a lot of range but keeps me focused when I tweet," she said.

She advocates keeping your tweets 75 percent professional and 25 percent personal, to round out your personality online. Her book suggests that newcomers can tweet about events, conferences, industry trends, recent accomplishments, books read or helpful resources. Retweeting someone else's words, with acknowledgment, can be a good way to get someone's attention.

Sautter advises to be aware of key words. They can be included in the content or added with hashtags (#) to help you search for information or be found by people with like interests. As a job seeker, you can set up saved searches using key words that will bring you a steady stream of job postings and information. Aggregator sites like HootSuite or TweetDeck can help you organize and customize your tweets, which will save you time.

"Be sure your profiles on all media are in order before starting out," said Giamanco. "Companies and potential colleagues will read them to learn more about you. In my world, a hiring manager will look to see if you really have a network or a following before offering you a sales job."

She uses mobile devices to research companies or individuals before meetings to gather up-to-the-minute information. "If you can show you're aware of company issues or breaking news, you'll increase your credibility in a job interview and put yourself way ahead of others in line," she added.

Giamanco credits social media with vastly enlarging her network of business colleagues and friends and improving her life. She knows that the learning curve can be steep and time-consuming. "Be patient. Invest the time. Weigh in with good questions, make introductions and build connections. It will pay off."

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Where Job Seekers Should Be Online - US News and World Report

Posted: 20 Jan 2011 05:57 AM PST

In-person networking is an important part of any job search. But equally important in today's job market is finding your place online and becoming visible to employers who seek an employee with your skill set. Even if you aren't actively engaged in a job search, it's wise to build your online reputation so jobs are more likely to come to you.

The Wall Street Journal reported this week that companies are decreasing their reliance on job boards and refocusing their recruiting efforts by using employee referral programs and social networks like LinkedIn and Facebook. So if you haven't updated your online presence recently, now's the time to do it.

[See How Job Seekers Can Build Their Online Brand.]

Here are a few websites that will help you build your online presence and reputation:

The Big Three: LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. These are the top sites recruiters now use to find potential candidates, so you should keep your profiles fresh and participate in the communities as much as possible. Make yourself easy to get in touch with by displaying your contact information prominently and joining groups on LinkedIn (which lets others in that group contact you). Keep your Twitters updates public. And even if you lock down your Facebook profile in most areas, it's worth considering allowing anybody who finds your profile to message you without being a "friend."

Rapportive. If you use Gmail, Rapportive is an easy-to-use plugin that allows you to quickly connect with the e-mail sender on major social media platforms. When you receive an e-mail, it shows you the sender's location, an overview of her LinkedIn profile and photo, most recent Twitter and Facebook updates, and direct links to her social media accounts—all right in your sidebar.

Rapportive also tells you whether you're already connected to that person on LinkedIn, and if you're not, you can send an invitation directly from Gmail. You can also write notes for yourself about each contact for later use.

[See 11 Helpful Sites for Job Seekers.]

Quora. This social media platform integrates many of the features from LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter, but in a different format. Quora is a question-and-answer site (similar to LinkedIn's Questions) where people ask specific questions tagged in categories and the community answers them. Answers can be voted up or down or edited by other users.

You can follow people on Quora like you do on Twitter, or you can follow questions. For professionals, the beauty is in becoming part of a community of experts in your industry. This platform allows you to connect directly with these people, and by asking smart questions and answering others you can position yourself as a knowledgeable—and hireable—expert in your field. It's not uncommon for the engineers of a certain product to answer a question or the CEO of a player in your field to throw in his or her two cents.

[For more career advice, visit U.S. News Careers, or find us on Facebook or Twitter.]

BranchOut. Similar to LinkedIn, BranchOut uses your Facebook contacts to show you which companies your friends have worked for and how you can make valuable connections through your extended networks. You can recommend friends, post jobs, and ask for networking help.

This tool is particularly useful for recent college graduates who have large Facebook networks but haven't yet started networking on LinkedIn. Since people tend to have different contacts on Facebook than they do on LinkedIn, it can also show you connections you may have overlooked. You may find an old high school friend or family member can make an important professional introduction.

Lindsay Olson is a founding partner and public relations recruiter with Paradigm Staffing and Hoojobs, a niche job board for public relations, communications and social media jobs. She blogs at LindsayOlson.com, where she discusses recruiting and job search issues.