As a whole, social media is a powerful tool for job seekers. Each network offers functionality and advantages that can help you in your job search, and in the case of Twitter, it’s all about conversation — and more specifically, Twitter chats.
What Is Twitter?
Twitter is a micro-blogging platform that limits users to tweets of 140 characters or less, meaning messages are short and succinct. Twitter is typically used for conversation and content sharing, whether it’s with friends, colleagues, other industry professionals, celebrities or people you’ve never met.
Twitter is a great source for conversation — if you learn the site’s language, you can find a wealth of content that aligns with your particular interests — and this is especially true for job-seekers. Many people or organizations mark their tweets with hashtags, descriptive terms or words that are preceded by the “#” symbol. You’ll often find hashtags that are used just for fun, like #Halloween or #iloveicecream. Yet hashtags can also be a valuable source of information and connections. Consider searching industry-specific terms like #engineering or #architecture, for example.
Why Twitter Chats Matter
Twitter chats are an extension of the site’s natural flow of conversation. Chats are held regularly — typically weekly — and cover topics ranging from health and wellness to industry tips and blogging. Twitter chats geared toward job seekers are a particularly active segment and are a great way to not only find tips and information, but also increase your visibility and make new connections with fellow job seekers (and prospective employers).
Interested in participating in a Twitter chat? First and foremost, find one that appeals to you! Some of our favorite Twitter chats for job seekers include #jobhuntchat, #U30Pro, #CareerChat and #LeadershipChat. We suggest trying out a variety of chats to see which topics best align with your particular job-seeking needs.
And if you’re free this Friday (October 26), we’d love for you to join us for the weekly #HireFriday chat — better known as #HFChat. Several of our HR/recruiting team members will be moderating the hourlong discussion that kicks off at noon ET. To participate in #HFChat or any Twitter chat, it’s best to use a site like TweetChat. You can sign in with your Twitter credentials and choose a hashtag to follow. Not only will TweetChat automatically generate all of the tweets labeled with that hashtag, it will also include the hashtag in all of the tweets you type through TweetChat so you don’t have to worry about missing a label.
Another quick note? Hashtags are searchable, too. If you’re finished with a Twitter chat and want to scroll back through the conversation, simply search for the corresponding hashtag using Twitter search. Regular participants also tend to share information and thoughts throughout the week and tag them with a Twitter chat hashtag, so if you find a term that’s especially valuable to you, you may want to set up a permanent search stream in a Twitter dashboard like TweetDeck or HootSuite so you can stay up-to-date with the latest discussion.
Do you use Twitter as a job-seeking resource? If so, what are some of your favorite chats and hashtags to follow?
Image by quinn.anya via Creative Commons
