Blog Updates

2010 will see some big changes to our blog - we're adding some great guest posters that will start contributing in January 2010.

We can't talk too much about the topics that will be covered - but they are very exciting.  Also, you will have definitely heard of some of the people who will be involved!

We are however, still always interested in hearing from you if you are interested in contributing to our blog.  Our blog is still quite new, but already getting some serious attention, and why wouldn't it? - When new blogs are posted we tell everyone about it!

So if you are interested in blogging for us, send us an email with some examples of your previous posts and what type of content you would be interested in posting and we'll get back to you.

A lot to look forward to at TwitJobs in 2010 - and our new blog is just one part of many new innovative updates we are working on to constantly make TwitJobs better.

Send emails to jobs@TwitJobs.net - we're waiting to hear from you.

Jason.

http://TwitJobs.net

Share

How Innovative Do You Actually Need To Be?

How Innovative Do You Actually Need To Be?

An interesting thought and one I wanted to elaborate on in more detail - Something we are often thought of as a job site, is innovative.  People I meet and network with online are always saying, wow, this is a really cool idea, how innovative.  But is innovation really what is needed? Or is it something that came out of a hard hitting recession in 2009 where everyone was trying anything to do something differently?

Its a very interesting topic of discussion.

On the one side, I had never planned to start a job board.  Prior to March 2009, I was consulting businesses and helping them gain traction in social media and the entire digital space through ppc, seo and targeted social media campaigns.  I really wanted to do more to help people, and raise my own profile as a result driven social media consultant.  This was at a time early last year, when there was the first big buzz around twitter (when stephen fry had 100,000 followers!).

Having put together the idea of TwitJobs and then started talking to a few 'media' recruitment agencies in and around London - they weren't exactly inspiring in their knowledge of the digital landscape.  I think many have just been doing what they do, and kind of see everything else as a side distraction to their business.  This is a shame.  Especially when they brand themselves as media experts to their clients.  The cynical side of me thinks they sit in a boardroom and reel off the buzz words of the week hoping that some of it sticks in the minds and makes their client feel comfortable in the knowledge they are dealing with 'similar' people.

2009 saw more job boards close than open.  Literally 1000s of job sites and recruiting businesses shut down and stopped trading.  Perhaps the wrong time to start a new job site?  Well, I never really thought of it that way.  I had an idea and really thought by using social media platforms we could communicate more effectively with a targeted audience.  It's a no-brainer, right?

The innovation is clearly with the platforms we are using - all we have done is create the springboard to work from - and my, has it sprung!

It is a shame how recruitment agencies and hiring managers have dabbled in this arena, with a twitter account, or a facebook fan page, that they have invited their existing network to and not thought to do anything else with it.  If you are going to communicate with the same people on Facebook as you do already on Twitter, isn't that just an opportunity for those people to stop following you/lose interest in your messages?

Get back to basics.  Think of social media as it is in its very raw and plain form.  A communication tool.  This is nothing new - social media could be skype, chatrooms, email (to some degree) - basically a digital online communication method.  If you are using email, you should be using Twitter, not for the same purposes exactly, but to compliment each other.

How did we get so many followers/friends? We just talked to people.  No fancy 6 month strategy.  No money spent on advertising or marketing, just talking to people.

Even when our site first launched and we had no jobs - we just talked to people.  Told them what we were hoping to create, asking them to RT if they could and that we were 'coming soon'.  Weeks later we have 100's of jobs on our site and 1000's of people following us.  Months later and we approach 100,000 followers and 1000's of jobs on our site, its a good time to look back and be pleased with what a difference we have made.

In December 2009, over 140,000 people worldwide applied for a job using TwitJobs.  This is 9 months from having no jobs at all, and hardly any followers.  Our advice to people thinking about being innovative - go out and do it - the industry you are thinking about being innovative in, probably will find it hard to adjust - but if you can make your offering so attractive, that they cannot ignore it, they will come to you.

That's what we find more and more - the businesses that were not sure if social media was for them in the early days, have had to start using it.  Not just because of the fact their competitors are using it, but because they need to reach the best possible, forward thinking people that are tuning into Twitter, FriendFeed, Facebook, Linkedin, or their preferred social network of choice.  Why would you not want your service to reach those people?

Be innovative - Be different, and don't be scared - the changes you make to the industry you work in could be the ones that change the sector for ever.

That's exactly what we have done!

Jason Barrett

http://TwitJobs.net




Share

3 Planning items for 2010 – and tools to help with the plan

Before you hit networking for a job hard this year, here are three areas to review your job search plan. The goal of this planning is to manage your most precious resource: time.

For each area listed below, there is a tool on the Candidates Chair site that can help you get this planning jump-started.

ONE: Planning Your Week
Each week should contain time for networking, business development (getting more networking meetings/interviews), networking preparation and follow-up. A common trap is to dedicate too much to networking. The preparation and follow-up are the keys to getting something out of the networking meeting.

To maintain a strong psyche, you need to keep to 35-40 hours a week. After this, your productivity and effectiveness simply declines (trust me on this one – I have experienced it firsthand).

Tool: Organizing Your Search Week

TWO: Planning Your Networking Meeting
You own the networking meeting from start to finish. When someone agrees to network with you, they are also agreeing (in principle) to help you. A well-run networking meeting is critical to getting them to actually follow-up.

There are three critical elements in a meeting: Identify what commitment you seek (e.g. make connections, offer insight to company), creating a true atmosphere of networking (what you can offer them) and time management.

Consider the practices of a Rainmaker, they need ‘wing it’ when it comes to sales pitch. This is your sales pitch – so prepare and plan well.

Tool: Anatomy of a Networking Meeting

THREE: Plan Who You Should Meet
One of my biggest mistakes was considering all networking meetings had equal value. I simply took too many meetings that offered me more connections, but not progress toward a hiring manager.

Later in my search, I began to use a simple point system to help manage who I asked to meet and allocation of my time. While this may sound counter to all advice, just because you can network with someone does not mean you should – unless they can move you closer to your goal. So look at what they can offer.

Tool: Daily Point System for Job Search

I hope this help you in 2010. I also wish each of you an excellent New Year. Please visit my prior posts, site and LinkedIn group for other thoughts on networking and search from a candidate’s perspective.

Good luck today!

Mark Richards
www.candidateschair.com
Job Search from a Candidate's Perspective - Advice and tools for search organization and networking
Candidates Chair LinkedIn Group:http://www.linkedin.com/groupRegistration?gid=2328268




http://TwitJobs.net




Share

('’)

Is 2010 The Year Mobile Makes An Impact In Social Media?

Morgan Stanley has released the latest Mobile Internet Report studying innovations in technology. 


If you have a spare few hours, you can read the full 400+ page report, or browse through the presentation slides. 


Mobile internet is not a fad and the recruitment industry needs to sit up and start to look at this powerful platform being used in more detail.  Earlier in 2009 at Digital Britain, I was amazed at just how many people didn't realise that Twitter could be used on a mobile device (as simply as sms), let alone all the applications like Tweetie and now Tweetdeck that have been rolled out (and continue to roll out) since then.


Most of the companies you come across in the UK and USA today are being run day-to-day recruitment are desktop based which requires costly overheads and resources. Recruitment systems, job boards and career websites need to upgrade their current technology and become mobile optimised to take full advantage of this growing medium.  Often sites, are just unaware of the growing popularity of mobile, due to the enhancements of mobile devices over the past 18 months.  Luckily - as TwitJobs is optimised for mobile, and our 'outward facing' content is delivered through social media communication platforms, it means for many months now, people have been able to apply for jobs using their mobile devices and TwitJobs together.


In fact, the first person ever to get a job using our service was actually on a bus to the job centre (or unemployment office) in London - they were able to apply via their iphone, get a call back and then attend the interview without even being on a netbook or desktop computer.  When you stop to think about that, it becomes an area that more and more job boards are not ready, or not even close to being ready for.

Innovation in technology – and the creation (and destruction) of wealth in its wake – follows a pattern. As each new computing cycle unfolds, roughly once a decade, the number of devices and users rises by a factor of ten. From mainframe to minicomputer, PC, desktop Internet, and now the mobile Internet, more and more people benefited from faster processing power, better user interfaces, smaller form factors, lower prices, and expanded services.

The key points to take away from the report are...

• Material wealth creation / destruction should surpass earlier computing cycles. 

• The mobile Internet is ramping faster than desktop Internet did. 

• Five IP-based products / services are growing / converging 

• Apple + Facebook platforms serving to raise the bar 

• Decade-plus Internet usage / monetization ramps.

• Massive mobile data growth 

• Emerging markets have material potential for mobile 

Jason Barrett.

http://TwitJobs.net




Share

Traffic BOOM!

December 2009 (we were told) is by far the quietest month for job sites of the world.  But for us it was our biggest month ever.

Not only was it the month when TwitJobs cemented a almost permanent place in Twitters trending topics (appearing a number of times, and even beating the XFactor Grand Final in the UK at one point) but we also had the most amount of applications and visits to jobs we post - working out to 140,000 applications to the postings we submit through various online social media platforms.  On top of this we also had more site visits, more new followers and friends connecting with our Linkedin profile, Friendfeed, Posterous, Facebook, Twitter and other social media platforms.

More evidence of just how powerful social media is as a tool for businesses looking to expand their business and explore new ways of finding the most talented individuals.

What does this mean for the future?  Well, some say SEO is dead, and that optimisation through social media is the new way to go.  But for people like me that have been in this space for a while - just take a look at the mid 90's (and still today) when recording artists promoted their myspace profiles - there are many stories of how these guys got signed and went on to massive recording contracts (Lilly Allen for one).

This works exactly the same when you are looking for work too.  Remember when applying for jobs and including links to your social media platforms for hiring managers and potential new employers to visit - this is your life.  People will be judging the content you post and share with your friends and followers - this content can be viewed in many ways from an employers perspective, but when you are posting, think about the implications that your post could have.

Be yourself, be informative, be true and have fun with what you post.  If like me, your hobby is your job and you truly love what you do, it will come across in your communications with the world.  Thats the most important thing - enjoying what you do.

Well, we are all very excited coming out of December with such positive stats and massive growth into 2010 its hard not to keep talking about it!

Again, all the very best to you and your families for 2010 and beyond at TwitJobs - we will be here to help, guide and try to make a positive impact on your (or your friends lives) through our dedication and commitment to making TwitJobs even better throughout 2010 and beyond.  Thanks for being their with us, and hope you continue to enjoy the ride!

Jason.
Jason@TwitJobs.net

http://TwitJobs.net




Share