Job seekers and HR managers are getting into social media tools. In bad economy, visibility matters and social network tools like Twitter, Facebook, Orkut etc provide network access.
Twitter is a latest kid on the block and it’s short SMS like text messaging has made many fans (We are also on Twitter if you want to follow us there – CodeMunch ). Lately Twitter is getting popular for job seekers to reach out to prospective employers. Wall Street Journal writes about this new development, which is getting good attention in worsening job market:
Looking for a new job, Alexa Scordato didn’t email or call her contacts about possible openings. Instead, she messaged them via the social-networking Web site Twitter.com.
Her brief message: “Hey there! Looking for a Social Media job up in Boston. Are you guys doing any entry level hires?”
Within a week, she had an interview. Within two weeks, she had a job.
The site, which lets users publish supershort updates of what they’re doing, is a virtual meeting ground where a range of communities — from moms to media professionals — come to converse informally.
It’s been criticized as a site for sharing mundane details about everyday activities. But people like 22-year-old Ms. Scordato, who used Twitter to privately message some people she’d met at a conference, show the site can be more than that.
“I would guess that if I had just sent them a long email with my résumé, I might not have gotten a response as fast as I did,” says Ms. Scordato, who was hired by Mzinga, a Boston-area company that helps businesses use social technology.
Clearly diversifying your social network presence in leading social networks helps in building personal brand. Focused effort in establishing expertise goes a long way in getting into good books of people you want to impress.
Follow us on codemunch. We will be looking at Twitter APIs and thinking how we can help our job seekers in their career planning.
The timing of this blog is perfect!
I wrote a recent article called “Is it networking or Nepotism 2.0″ Point being nepotism seems to make people most angry when they are unemployed. When they are busy working and networking, they are in fact fueling their personal nepotism machine. Now stay with me here ..
The better they network, the more likely they are to get picked up or at least offered a job by one of the clients they network with. And let’s be honest here, when that happens, it’s nepotism. Nepotism 2.0!
So make nepotism your new friend & network your face off. In person when possible and through all the new social media channels available.
To that end, in my own Twitter profile my URL is http://www.mikeperras.com where I have a brief bullet point list of who I am, and a more detailed resume backgrounder in PDF format online. You just never know who’s watching.
We all need a more holistic approach these days. I need to take a better look at the entire company before I apply for a job and likewise HR Recruiters need to look at the complete you. And you know what, the drive through resume is dead. Write a 5 pager .. tell them exactly who you are well beyond your education and work experience.
It’s 2009, if a company doesn’t have time to look at the complete you, you certainly don’t want to work for them anyway. How does that grab you? It’s a new era my friends, communicate your story every chance you get. You deserve the best!
Cheers,
Mike Perras, P.Mgr
Thanks Mike.
You nailed it with this statement:
‘It’s a new era my friends, communicate your story every chance you get’
Vikash