Tweeting Your Way Into a New Financial Services Job
Veronica Segovia, who manages social media for Vocus, a Washington, D.C. software company, loves to tell the story of a Twitter follower who once reached out to her about opportunities at her firm.
“He mentioned that he was a top performer at another software company in our industry,” Segovia tells eFinancialCareers. “I responded and we exchanged contact information. He eventually interviewed and got the job.”
Yes, Twitter is a great resource for breaking news, staying abreast of trends, keeping up with pals and learning the latest gossip. But it is also a great tool for finding work.
“Job seekers who have a Twitter account can receive free job-seeking advice by following experts in resume and cover letter crafting, networking, interview strategy and more,” says Sudy Bharadwai, co-founder and CEO of Jackalopejobs.com, a job search platform. “They can also follow one of thousands of Twitter handles dedicated to tweeting job postings,” she tells eFinancialCareers.
Here are a few tips for how you can use Twitter effectively to land a job.
Follow Potential Employers
“Companies use Twitter to engage with their audience,” says Bharadwai. “Therefore, job seekers can follow the companies they would like to target and better research the company, products, people, etc. But it's not just job seekers who use Twitter to find jobs. Hiring managers and recruiters use Twitter to find qualified candidates, too. Job candidates can further promote their unique personal brand on Twitter, allowing themselves to appear consistent and valuable to recruiters they've connected with or vice versa.”
Keep Up with Recruiters, Thought Leaders and Professionals in Your Field
“It's also a good idea to follow recruiters who specialize in your field because very often recruiters will post very brief descriptions of their openings on their Twitter pages,” Cheryl E. Palmer, a certified career coach, tells eFinancialCareers.
“Identify hiring managers in companies that you want to work for and follow them on Twitter. You can then find out what is important to the hiring managers by reading their tweets. After gathering some intelligence for a while, job seekers can then approach these hiring managers and make comments to the managers' tweets to start a conversation with them. This is a non-threatening way to contact hiring managers without directly asking for a job. A hiring manager will be impressed with thoughtful questions and comments by the job seeker."
Position Yourself as a Resource
Twitter is a great resource for showing off even your minor accomplishments. Says Brie Weiler Reynolds, manager of content and social media for FlexJobs.com: “You can use Twitter to share information that pertains to your career with your followers—news stories, videos, press releases, interesting op-eds, even cartoons—anything that relates to your career or trends in your industry, that demonstrates your ability to find and synthesize information, and that shows your career intelligence is a good thing.”
Adds Palmer: “Raise your visibility as a job seeker or expert in your field by using Twitter to participate in discussions on topics that you are well versed in. This will position you as a knowledgeable professional.”
Timing is Important
“Just because you’ve found the person responsible for filling your dream job on Twitter doesn’t mean you should instantly message them and ask for a job,” says Reynolds. “Instead, wait for the right time—either when you see a tweet about the specific job opening you want, or you read a news story that is absolutely timely and related to the company.”
