How to find a job, love and money on Twitter

When you’ve got your job, love life and finances sorted, you’re doing pretty well. But if you haven’t, why not use Twitter? What if you could find your dream career, soul mate and first million 140 characters at a time? Well, you can.

Before you write me off as a complete lunatic, see for yourself with my three-part series.

•    PART ONE: How to find a job on Twitter – today
•    PART TWO: How to find love on Twitter – tomorrow
•    PART THREE: How to make money on Twitter – Wednesday

How to find a job on Twitter

With so many companies and recruiters, Twitter is a great place to find a job. But where to start? It’s all about optimising your profile, your followers, who you follow and your networking skills.
Pimp your profile

No-one will follow you if you have a boring profile and bio. So spend some time creating a good one.

• Picture. No cartoon avatars please. Instead, use a good headshot of yourself to give the right impression, straight away
• URL. Include a link to your blog, Linkedin profile or site. If you don’t have one – get one. WordPress.com is fab, free and you can create a portfolio in minutes
• Bio. Make the most of this. You have 160 characters to sum up your background and what you’re looking for. Use industry keywords and say you’re looking for a job (just don’t start following your boss)
• Background. Go to TwitterGallery and choose a theme. It’s an extra way to help you stand out and it’s free

Great job-hunting tools on Twitter

There are loads of Twitter tools and applications to help you hunt down your perfect career. Here are eight of the very best.

• Tweetdeck. Create groups to follow with Tweetdeck – great when you’re looking at different careers
• Twellow. An excellent online directory – use keywords related to your industry to track down those in the know
• TwitDir. Track down people in your industry – you will be surprised how many are tweeting
• Just Tweet It. Another directory – it’s worth using them all
• Twubble. Follow who your followers are following. Visit profiles and view their  favourites
• Microjobs. This links job seekers and recruiters through tweets. Recruiters begin their tweets with @Microjobs. Follow @Microjobs to get tweets directly from your industry
• TweetMyJobs. Follow the hashtag #Tweetmyjobs and visit the website. This is a simple and free tool for job seekers. Subscribe to job channels and get new openings sent to your phone. You can also specify which cities you want notifications from.
• Twitter Search. Type in keywords important in your job search. For example, “job in London,” “freelancing positions,” or “beauty career.”

Follow the right people

Follow all the people you find interesting and who might be able to help you at some stage in your job search.

• Tell people you’re looking for a job. Don’t do it every tweet, but make sure people know you’re looking
• Write down keywords from your industry. Then go to Twittersearch or Monitter and see who tweeting these words.
• Follow people who might offer jobs. Use Twitter Search to follow past recruiters until you can sense if/when it will happen again.
• Avoid some Twitter accounts. Some twitterers just broadcast job listings, e.g. TwitHire. Use them, but be careful not to waste time if they’re not related to your industry.
• Do your research. Before you contact a recruiter via Twitter, check out their bio, follower/following ratio, and visit their website

Get more followers

Provide value by sharing tips, news or resource links about your industry. Answer every question – quickly. Enjoy yourself, while you help your followers as much as you can. That, in a nutshell, is how you get followers.

• Start twittering. Before you start following, start twittering. Twitter several messages to give people a taste of what they’ll get by following you. Do this for 30 minutes EVERY day and watch your followers grow.
• Twitter about your job search. Your Twitter friends should know you’re job hunting, so an occasional reminder is important.
• Establish yourself as an expert. It means you’ll have more than just your resume to back up your knowledge and experience when potential employers research you.

See, it’s easy. Thousands of people have already found their dream jobs on Twitter and you could be next. Your next job really could be just a tweet away.

Can you think of other ‘how to’s? Leave a comment and I’ll try to keep this ‘how to’ section going.

Tomorrow: How to find LOVE on Twitter
Wednesday: How to make MONEY on twitter