IT Hire Wire

It’s imperative to try Twitter for your IT job search if you want to make social networking work for you. The key to doing Twitter right though, is to use it as a turbo-powered networking tool rather than just another job board. Let me show you what I mean. Doing a simple search at search.twitter.com using the keywords “IT Job Chicago” turns out 48 job postings. You could give Twitterjobsearch.com a try (which I’m not yet a huge fan of) and get similar results. Job postings on Twitter link to the source of the posting and allow you to apply with your standard resume. The thing is, you could do that on Monster and CareerBuilder already, so how is using Twitter in this way any different?

Professional Networking on Twitter

I suggest that you think of your presence on Twitter as a new avenue to pursue your career interests. Notice that I didn’t say use Twitter as a new way to tell the world you are desperately seeking work. The speed with which you will get to a ‘Do you have any jobs available’ conversation will be proportional to how quickly you add value to the Twitter network. As you follow people at companies where you would like to work, or follow some excellent recruiters, they can immediately refer to your Twitter page and your stream of ‘tweets’ to gauge your knowledge in the IT industry. They can also view your resume or online portfolio by following links in your bio. Sharing this information would normally require an online application or 2-4 emails, but can be done by one direct message or @ reply instantaneously via Twitter.

Finding Your Following:

Of course, the greater your network of followers, the more response you will have to your networking efforts. Third party resources have created numerous sites to facilitate searching Twitter ranging from people or business searches to a Twitter application search. You can view a comprehensive list of fifteen directories with Mashable’s article, “Find ‘Em on Twitter: 15 Twitter Directories Compared.” Here are four I narrowed down to maximize your job searching network:

• Twellow: Known as the Twitter Yellow Pages, allows you to search people by name, bio, location or category such as: information technology or recruiting. Twitter users can add themselves to Twello and its categories (max 20), modify their profile to include more links and extend their bio.
  For Example: IT Recruiter Search
• NearbyTweets: Allows you to localize your Twittersphere by searching for fellow Tweeples via city, zip code or address. You can also search with keywords and limit the search radius to find those with similar interests to you who are just a jump away.
• Twitpacks: Allows you to search by creating packs of people based on topic, interest, location, company and events.
  For Example: There is a pack for technology.
• Twibs: IT businesses are on Twitter too. Follow them to see when they land new business and might be hiring.
  For Example: IT companies

I hope you’ll follow these easy to learn tips to increase your network and take your job search into the Twittersphere.

Photo by designer-wg.de

Tags: Job Search, Twitter

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