500 million tweets are sent every day according to Twitter, and amongst the celebrity gossip, links to funny videos and pictures of dinners, there are actually some nuggets of extremely useful information. But how do you mine these nuggets, and how can you use Twitter to help you find a job? Here’s our top tips:
Follow the right people
It’s pretty likely that the kinds of people, companies and organisations that could help with your job search will be on Twitter. The search bar at the top right of the home screen is the easiest way to find people and tweets related to your search. Be aware that a large company may have loads of different twitter accounts, so read the profiles and make sure they are relevant to what you’re looking for. Think about the accounts that may be useful to you in your job hunt, for example:
- Big Companies related to your industry, e.g. KPMG: @KPMGRecruitment The NHS:@NHS_Careers The BBC: @BBCRecruitment
- Job search websites, Careers Sites and Recruitment Agencies, e.g. Bradford Job Centres: @JCPBradford Indeed: @indeed Monster Jobs: @Monsterjobs_uk
- Industry News, e.g. The Engineer @TheEngineerUK New Scientist @newscientist
- General Advice e.g. Guardian Careers: @GuardianCareers Prospects: @Prospects
- And of course, our twitter feed: @UniBradCareers
The above examples are picked from a variety of fields, and are intended to give an idea of the range available, you should tailor yours to your specific area of study, location, interests etc.
Use lists
Once you’re following a wide range of people, you might find yourself with an extremely busy newsfeed. Get organised by arranging your feeds into categories. Click on the ‘profile and settings‘ button and select ‘lists’, and you can add twitter profiles to your lists by searching by name or on the following page clicking the cog symbol and selecting ‘Add or remove from lists’. You can also follow other twitter users’ lists if they are public.
Make sure your profile is up to scratch
You don’t have to tweet at all to be able to follow other’s tweets, but if you do, remember a recruiter can potentially see your profile (research suggests that over 90% of employers will search for you as part of your job application) so make sure you are promoting a positive message – that means not having a silly @username or having a feed full of sweary ‘banter’ with your mates. It’s perfectly acceptable to have more than one twitter account, so have one for business and one for pleasure if you want the freedom to speak your mind.
Get involved in the conversation
Another way to promote a positive image of yourself is to engage with other twitter users. Retweeting relevant info and getting involved in conversations, even if it’s just to thank someone for sharing something useful helps to build up an impressive profile. Plus, if you are chatting to potential employers it shows that you have a genuine interest in the company prior to any job application, which can only be a good thing in their eyes.
As always, job seeking is a competitive environment, so make sure you use all the tools at your disposal, including Twitter, to help you find that job. For more information, see our Guide To Digital Networking, and if you’d like further help please feel free to get in touch with us at Careers.