Use Twitter for Your Job Search -

Use Twitter for Your Job Search - Twitter is a great tool to leverage for your job hunt. You can tweet yourself to a job opportunity 140 characters at a time! Its been done!   Statistics show that job search networking is much more effective when you make “loose” connections touching base with people beyond your immediate circle whose networks and contacts are much different from your own. As an open network, Twitter offers an unparalleled opportunity to create an extended network. Not convinced that Twitter is actually a high-powered job search tool? Read on to learn how Twitter can uniquely position you for job-hunting success! What Can Twitter Do For You? Afford access to other professionals in your field. When you follow industry leaders, youll know who spends time with them, what conferences they attend (and what they think of the speakers!), what theyre reading and what is on their minds. This is great information to leverage for your search. Provide exposure and credibility as well as personal and professional relationships when you connect to others in your industry. Offer you a venue to demonstrate your expertise and share information in quick, pithy bursts of wisdom. This is perfect if you dont have the time or energy to create a blog. Unique Aspects of Twitter It is casual and immediate and a great place to meet informally. Youll find an array of people on Twitter, including CEOs, top-level executives, hiring managers, recruiters and everyone in-between! Its one-stop shopping for your networking needs. Youll be surprised to find that stars in your field (mentors) may follow you if you reach out to them! Unlike Facebook, where it is kind of creepy if you start trying to “friend” people who are connected to your contacts, it is acceptable (and expected) to follow people on Twitter because another friend or colleague does. It forces you to be brief. Coming up with your Twit-Pitch what you have to offer in 160 characters or less will help you clarify your value proposition. Remember: less is more! Convinced? What To Do First? Brand yourself professionally. If you are planning to use Twitter for a job search, set up a designated profile and account. Choose a professional Twitter handle using your name or some combination of your name and profession that sounds good and is easy to remember. For example, JaneSmith or PRProJane. Take time to create a professional profile that will attract your target market. If you dont have a website, link to your LinkedIn profile. Before you follow anyone, start posting some tweets! Dont succumb to the temptation to share your lunch menuTweet about an article, an idea or share a link of professional interest to your targeted followers. Do this for a few days. It may seem strange to be tweeting when no one is following, but you may be surprised to gain an audience before you even try. Once you have a great profile and a set of interesting tweets, start following people in your industry. Aim high! Follow stars some will follow you back. Continue to build your network by using Twitter Search and Twitters Find People tool. Manually review profiles and use Twubble to help you find new people to follow. Use directories such as Twellow and TwitDir. Grow your network slowly you dont want to follow 1000 people and have only 30 following you. That makes you look spammy, not professional. Another tool to use to learn what is going on in your area of expertise is Monitter. (Hat tip Steve Cornelius.) Steve used it to look up information about a company where he was interviewing. It is also great to see what people are talking about and to find conversations to join on Twitter. Use hashtags (the # sign) to tag your posts and to search for tweets about subjects of interest to you. These tags make it easy for people to search for your content. Cision Blog explains this well: Hashtags are used on Twitter to create groupings around a particular topic, event, community, industry, location, etc. By using a hashtag, tweeters can follow an entire conversation chain uninterrupted by other tweets. Tagalus is a service that provide the definition of   hash tags, so take a look if you are following people and have no idea what their tags mean! For additional resources about hashtags, follow THIS LINK. Give, give, give! Think about what you can do for others. Dont blatantly self-promote. Instead, help promote others. Retweet (pass along information someone else shared, giving them credit) you will earn followers and friends this way. Those who know (and like) you will become part of your network and will be willing to help you. (See picture for an example of a retweet.) Sustain Your Twitter Network Twitter doesnt have to be very time-consuming, but if its going to be part of your job search strategy, make a point to keep up with it by sending out something useful every day. Read what other people write and respond. Join conversations and start your own. Dont be afraid to send a message directly to a star in your field. Simply address your tweet to @their Twitter name, and they should receive it. (Be aware that Twitter isnt 100% reliable, so feel free to try again if you dont hear back or have reason to believe your message wasnt delivered.) Feel free to tweet that you are looking for an opportunity. (See below for a success story!) People Who Found Jobs and How! Jessica Smith found her current “dream job” as Chief Mom Officer simply by tweeting to approximately 400 followers, “Anyone looking for a marketing or biz dev person?”   Within minutes, she received a DM from the founder of Wishpot.com, asking for a phone interview that resulted in a perfect position! Kyle Flaherty used Twitter to find a job that moved him and his family to Austin, TX from Boston. He tweeted to approximately 650 contacts that he had left his job. He included a link to a blog post outlining his interest in connecting. He explains, “Within hours I had several emails, IMs, phone calls and tweets about the topic and it actually ended up that I took a new job. Follow this link for an interview with Kyles new boss, Pam O’Neil, who explains how she and Kyle used Twitter to fill the position. Heidi Miller, the “Podcasting Princess,” found a freelance project using Twitter by tweeting updates about her job hunt. Many of her colleagues questioned the wisdom of being so open about her search; they worried she look desperate or foolish. However, the ends justified the means. As more and more get involved (dare I say addicted?) to Twitter, opportunities to leverage this tool for job search networking will grow exponentially. Don’t be the one left behind! Get on board and start connecting for success. How are you using Twitter for your job hunt? Share in the comments section below! A version of this blog was posted on Probloggers new site about Twitter. Keppie Careers is a one-stop shop to help you get your job search on the right track. Need a resume? Help getting going? We can help!

The Basic Facts of Writing a Resume for a Night Job with No Experience

The Basic Facts of Writing a Resume for a Night Job with No Experience Introducing Writing a Resume for a Night Job with No Experience If don't have any experience in customer support, no issue! Even in the event you don't know the individual that well, seek their input. If you are a newcomer to freelancing or wish to transition to another kind of freelancing work, you might want to think about employing a functional resume instead of a chronological one. Everyone can turn into a self-employed writer. Even if you believe your teaching experience is minimal, it's likely greater than you believe! Second, it makes it possible for you to develop skills about the career path you are wanting to get into. All transferrable skills have to be mentioned. The Debate Over Writing a Resume for a Night Job with No Experience No matter where or in what industry sector you're searching for work, you are going to require a strong night auditor resume to find the job that you want. Many t imes it's possible to secure that practical experience and become paid at exactly the same moment. Therefore, when you sit down to compose your first resume, attempt to consider your prior jobs in a new light. Looks like you are going to be busy Friday nights. For less academic-centered jobs, it may be tricky to settle on which course work is relevant. Make a list of absolutely whatever you've done that may be useful on a resume. Under that topic you would speak about a couple of jobs you held before that highlight your abilities in that region. There are a number of ways to look for employment besides the classified ads. To begin with, it may be an effective method to show employers about your work ethic. They're all seeking new small business ideas. A free resume review may give you the confidence required to attack the work search with complete force. While the functional resume format may be an attractive choice for job seekers with very little experience, most employers would rather have a chronological or hybrid resume format.

How Long Should Your Lunch Break Be - Work It Daily

How Long Should Your Lunch Break Be - Work It Daily The office lunch break is often a source of contention for many. While some firms have a strict one-hour lunch policy, for others it's half an hour, and for the unlucky few, it may mean eating and working at the same time. But, even when workers do have the right to a lunch break, how long is optimum to benefit both organization and the individual worker? Key Facts In the UK, the average office worker devotes 29 minutes to their lunch break. The traditional hour-long lunch break is the exception rather than the norm these days, with just 1 in 5 workers having an hour for lunch. Many workers skip lunch, either because they have mounting work pressures, or even because they think it might impress the boss. So, where should an employer stand on this issue? A lot depends on the nature of the business, and the arrangements in place within the organization. For example, smaller businesses may not have enough staff to cover lengthy lunches, so will choose to opt for shorter ones. Some staff working on flexi-time may choose to take a shorter lunch in favour for leaving the office earlier. The One-Hour Lunch Break However, many organizations firmly believe that an hour for lunch is good for both the employee and the business. By taking a lengthy break to eat lunch, even leave the office to go for a walk, go to the gym or do some shopping, it will leave the worker re-energized and raring to go again. Some people even argue that when you get an hour for lunch, you're more likely to make healthy food choices because you have more time to devote to it - which can help improve energy levels and increase productivity. Since many businesses don't pay their staff for their lunch hour, it makes sense to take the break and not feel guilty about it. The Half-Hour Lunch Break Other organizations argue that half an hour is perfectly adequate an amount of time to devote to lunch. Some employees may value this arrangement too, whereby they can perhaps leave the office half an hour earlier, or take two smaller breaks in the morning or afternoon. In some office environments where there are no other facilities, shops, etc nearby, there wouldn't be enough to occupy an hour anyway. However, the danger of shorter lunch breaks is that staff may be more inclined to eat at their desks. This will make it harder to switch off from work and work-related distractions, and may reduce productivity later in the afternoon. Workers need to take time away from the desk to recharge their batteries, but this is less likely to happen with shorter lunch breaks. Workers may also choose less healthy food options when having shorter breaks, including fast food or instant sugar boosts, which won't sustain energy levels throughout the rest of the afternoon. So, how long should my lunch break be? So, which is better - the full-hour lunch break or the half-hour one? In theory, the full hour lunch break gives the worker the best opportunity to switch off and recharge ready for the afternoon. But, in reality, with increasing workloads and pressures and different arrangements for working, most often employees are ending up taking half an hour for lunch, or even less. Enjoy this article? You've got time for another! Check out these related articles: 5 Tips For A Successful Business Lunch 5 Lunch Hour Workouts 4 Awesome Skills You Can Learn On Your Lunch Break Photo Credit: Shutterstock Have you joined our career growth club?Join For Free!