This Month On TwitJobs

Its hard to believe we are just a couple of weeks away from March 2010! It seems like 5 minutes ago it was Christmas, but for most of us the #Snow has stopped and things are starting to brighten up.

This year so far has certainly felt a lot brighter on the employment front too, with employers starting to see the need for more of the staff they may have laid off last year.  Especially roles such as marketing, promotions, social media and more roles are getting many more opportunities posted this year already.

This is great news for jobseekers not just in the UK but around the world as business seems to continue to pick up across many different industries.

Our job search provides 1000's of new opportunities added daily, and many of which you won't find anywhere else.  Unlike other job sites our featured jobs are exclusive opportunities to TwitJobs users - we don't sell these listings on to other job sites, so when searching our jobs you can be sure that you're not applying for the same job over and over again.

Happy job hunting - and hope you benefit from the up-surge in job opportunities!

http://TwitJobs.net



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LinkedIn vs Twitter for Job Search

I gave a presentation last week on using Twitter for Job Search.

I've used both Twitter and LinkedIn to help people find my Candidates Chair site and job search networking. When it comes to allocating your time for job search - I'd go with LinkedIn before Twitter.

Here's how I think of the two: Twitter is a raging river that's wide, fast and crowded. LinkedIn is also crowded, but it's a slower river with lots of small ponds to pull off along the way.

While I've made a number of good connections via Twitter, it is much more work than LinkedIn. More work because it's tougher to stand out (unless you are a celebrity) simply due to the pace of Twitter and fewer ways to stand out.

LinkedIn on the other hand has so many ways to stand out. Putting aside the most obvious of a mutual connection. My favorite are answering questions and participating in groups.

If you look at a typical question on LinkedIn - if it has more than a dozen answers, that's quite a few.

Yet these questions get lots of people looking at them - with 70 million people on LinkedIn, here's a perfect opportunity to show off your skill when you are only one of a dozen people answering a question. Careful thought in a brief answer can go a long way.

The same issue holds true for group discussions.

Over 40% of the traffic to my Candidates Chair came from answering questions or group discussions on LinkedIn. 5% via Twitter.

LinkedIn truly rules the roost when it comes to making connections and getting exposure of your 'brand'.

Twitter is no slacker when it comes to content - which is one of my favorite aspects of Twitter. The amount of articles, advice, etc. on job search is stunning. Anything from resume writing, interviewing, on-line applications, career coaching, etc.

Networking will always be king and LinkedIn will give you more opportunities to both find people, but also inspire them to help you out.

Cheers,

Mark

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




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How many social networking sites should I belong to?

There are a number of excellent social networking sites. Not having been in every industry or country, I cannot comment which sites are best for a particular industry or profession (but feel free to post a comment here to share you insights with others).

Here’s my advice: Start with one network, figure out how it works, and use its potential. It’s how you use the site that matters.

How many tweets, followers, fans, friends, connections, posts, etc. that you have is interesting. What you inspire those people to do on your behalf is relevant.

Time is your most precious commodity in search - so figure out how a particular social network will help you move closer to finding a new role.

When I first joined LinkedIn, I built a profile and got connected to people. Then that was it. Can’t say I did much more. That’s been a common theme in my discussions with other candidates “I’m on LinkedIn. Now what?”

I was missing two elements: A plan of what I wanted to inspire people to do for me. Dedicated time to work.

After dedicating more time to work with different functions, (see the Toolkit on Candidates Chair for the “Using LinkedIn for Networking” or do a Google Search), I now run four groups, and have really made LinkedIn one of the primary networking tools for myself. (p.s. I still have loads to learn.)

If you start with the notion that social networking is a means to an end, not an end to itself - then you are one the right track. Now ask yourself what you want and what you need to do to accomplish it through others in the social network.

A quick aside: I wanted to congratulate Jason and the TwitJob team for an amazing run of making TwitJobs so widespread and useful for so many people. There's not been a time when so many people could use a bit of a help - so my hat's off to the team for doing so day in and day out.

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




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It Does Not Cost Anything to be Polite

I heard Tubby Smith, the University of Minnesota’s head basketball coach, tell a story about his upbringing which included his parents’ advice: “It does not cost anything to be polite”.

That’s a saying you should take to heart when networking for a new job.

Here’s my rule: Besides feeling good about yourself – in networking you never know who knows who – so just be polite to everyone.

This is not to say you’ll be tempted. I experienced people who were pretty rude, to which I simply closed down the meeting quickly and moved on. For the really bad ones, I cursed when I got into the car (windows rolled up, of course).

I know this seems like a basic topic and most people take their behavior for granted. However, I hear a 'horror story' every week about how bad a candidate was in their networking: showing up late, cutting answers short, being quick as a whip to dismiss ideas, etc.

Many times the behavior can be chalked up to cramming too much in a day and being eager to get their story out.

But I still hear the stories and if I hear about it - assume that dozens other have heard it as well.

The punchline: Do yourself a favor and just pay attention at a few meetings to make sure you are good to go.

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




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Job Services On Twitter

Since TwitJobs launched in March of 2009 there have been a lot of other job services on Twitter that have launched.  Theres some real smart technology out there, and the platform has allowed many services to offer some fantastic services.

I wanted to just bullet point a few key points that separates us from the others.

TwitJobs Is The Only Cross Platform Social Media Solution.
What does this mean? - Well, we post across 9 social networks simultaneously, including twitter, facebook, friendfeed, bebo, posterous, plurk, tumblr, and linkedin. 

TwitJobs Uses Real People.
We actually have a small team of people managing each profile we post to.  Whats the point of social media if its all about automated feeds and RSS? Well, we believe social media is always going to be about human to human communication through different social media platforms, so thats what we do!

TwitJobs Advertising Fees Make Us Affordable.
Cost is an important part of advertising jobs online.  Our costs are designed to appeal to large corporations like Google, Apple, Sony, IBM, Microsoft etc - as well as the start up community, and smaller organisations that need amazing talented people.

TwitJobs Has More Jobs, More Opportunities.
Our database has 1000's of jobs in many different industries, not just online roles but engineering, customer service, retail, armed forces and many, many more.  We also include roles that are flexible, freelance, temp, contract and work from home.

We Understand Social Media.
The founders of the business have been helping businesses get involved in social media for many years.  Having this knowledge and backbone to our business makes us understand fully the space we operate in and the services we can provide for users and advertisers.

Our International Reach Is More Than Just Reach.
Posting jobs in 11 different countries and 5 different languages has its own challenges, thats why we've teamed up with people that understand the market in your local area.  Jobs for you, answers that are important to your community and specialized support.

More Subscribers Per Profile Than Anyone.
Its all well and good to have 1000's of social media profiles across different platforms, but unless you have a voice, you're only using 1/8 of the power of social media.  Our profiles have more subscribers than any other job site involved in social media, in the World! - This means, more RT's, more sharing and more interaction than anyone else.

Not Just Numbers - Results.
December 2009 TwitJobs hosted over 140,000 job applications through its network.  Thats one application for a new job opportunity through someone using TwitJobs every 20 seconds.  Its important to us to provide fantastic value to our advertisers and that they are not wasting their money.

Continuing Innovation.
TwitJobs was the first job site in the world to offer a job application page directly on our Facebook page.  This means people can apply directly for jobs advertised on TwitJobs, without even leaving Facebook - the worlds largest social network, with over 350 million monthly users (as of Jan 2010).  We were also one of the first organisations to have developer access to Google Wave back in May 2009.  We continue to innovate and explore new ways to help people find work.

We Check Job Postings.
We dont allow job postings for dodgy work from home/mlm/create a home business opportunity unless we are 100% happy that it is a genuine job/career opportunity.  Our subscribers would soon tell us if something didn't seem right - so we check everything that goes out and make sure its 100% genuine.


Imitation, it's said, is the highest form of flattery.  TwitJobs continues to provide a extra special service and user experience in 2010.  We have lots more innovations that we are excited about rolling out this year, including many more free tools to help people make the most of their job application.  

What would you like to see more of from TwitJobs?  Let us know here, or just tell us on any one of our social media platforms.  You can be assured we are listening just as much as we are helping.  Alternatively, you can always drop us an email at jobs (at) TwitJobs (dot) net

 
Jason.

http://TwitJobs.net




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