Twitter gives you as a jobseeker the opportunity to get directly connected with recruiters, HR Representatives, and hiring managers in a simple way. Here are five steps for using Twitter to find your next job.

• Clean Up Your Profile. Many future employers get their first impression of you by searching online. Make your account more professional by doing the following: Update your picture to a professional photograph of yourself, delete tweets that may be considered more edgy, use a Twitter ID that speaks to your strengths, and add tweets that demonstrate your ability to contribute value to a company.
• Network. Don’t be afraid to use your Twitter contacts to network and find your dream job. Connect to others that are currently working where you’d like to work and engage them in discussions. As Forbes.com says, “Build your social capital by becoming known as a source for provocative content.”
• Search for Opportunities. Many employers have started using Twitter as a recruiting tool. They know that, “Job postings reach people looking for work – tweets reach fans.” Leverage this fact by following companies on Twitter.
• Learn About and Use Hashtags. Hashtags are words that have the “#” sign in front of them and are used to identify messages on a specific topic. You can use hashtags such as #nonprofit and #ExecutiveJobs or #jobs to not only find job openings, but also to be found by tweeting or retweeting interesting content related to the hashtag. Still confused? Check out this link to Twitter’s guide on using hashtags.
• Use Your Account Proactively. Connect your Twitter feed to other social media profiles such as LinkedIn to gain more exposure to your tweets. You can even make a digital copy of your resume available to potential employers.

Now that you are more familiar with how you can use Twitter in your job search, it is time to make the changes and start to use the virtual Twitter world to land the real world career of your dreams.

I can be found at @CharlotteWeeks. Be sure to connect with me!