At the start of this century, Social Media was touted to become its most influential asset. It is now turning out to be more public and informative than some of the traditional media.
Twitter is no-more a newbie on social networking. The user numbers are growing and there is a big increase in industry presence on Twitter. As a graduate, or someone looking for a job, Twitter is now a must-have job search tool. Here I present 5 steps to get started on Twitter.
Twitter for job
1. Put on a professional handle (username). You can have more than one account on Twitter, so for professional use, and even generally, I would suggest having a more sensible handle. No more @hot_munchkin or @orange_monkey. You can be creative though, and a bit casual, e.g.: my username has always been @freeman_faiz. Whatever you have your handle as, make sure you wouldn’t be embarrassed to shout it out in public.
2. A Picture speaks a thousand words. By default, once you sign up, Twitter puts a white egg behind a colourful background as your profile picture. Change it to one of yours! Again, try and choose a clear image. Your photo on social networks is available in public domain, so be sure to have a good clear image on Twitter too.
3. Fill in the Bio section well. Use the bio section to showcase your skills and interests. There is a limit of 160 characters. Hence, keywords are important. If you are a Graduate, add that. Write your interests, if you want to. But don’t leave it blank. If you have, or contribute to a blog, add a link, but don’t link your own twitter profile!
4. Follow the right people (accounts). As soon as you sign up, start following careers related people, organisations, or HR accounts of major businesses. You can even folow recruiting agents. To get started, why not sign up and follow me: @freeman_faiz. Then you can follow the people I follow, to get involved in job hunting.
5. Start Tweeting, RT, and getting involved. Once you start following the right people or accounts on twitter, it’s time to get involved in mentioning other users, reply to general questions and RT interesting tweets. If you interact with business accounts, or someone in the recruitment industry, you might be able to get some attention! Never post anything that you wouldn’t want your employer to read – irrespective of whether you have a job, or not.
I hope these 5 points will help you get started on twitter. You can follow me @freeman_faiz and tweet any questions you want answered!
BONUS TIP – Hash-tags are a big thing on Twitter. Try hash-tag #graduate #job and #careers for careers information and job vacancies advertised! Go on, try it!
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