If you’re like me and you’re an undergraduate student in the beginning stages of a job search and still trying to figure out what you want to do with your Wellesley liberal arts education, then adding Twitter to your job search repertoire might be useful in ways that you probably hadn’t thought about.
When talking to fellow students about Twitter I tend to get mixed responses– they either love it or hate it—but either way, I often hear that Twitter is just a waste of time, another tool for procrastination from writing that philosophy paper, studying for that econ exam or prepping for upcoming midterms. While LinkedIn is known as “the social medium for professional networking”, Twitter has a different reputation and many students don’t see the benefits of incorporating this tool into a successful job search strategy.
But, don’t completely ignore this social media outlet just yet! Twitter can be much more than a way to keep track of celebrities, stay in touch with friends, or share brief accounts of your day. Twitter, in fact, is an endless, constantly updated database that when used purposefully, can be helpful for building your professional network, instantly and incrementally.
Still don’t believe me? I’m actually a newcomer to using social media for exploring career options. Following excellent advice from the CWS, I created a LinkedIn profile and am gradually filling it in, connecting with others, and searching for organizations I might want to work for when I graduate in May. I spend time on this important site every week, but Twitter is a part of my daily routine. I start off my morning in the dining hall with cereal and Twitter — my own personal, customized newspaper for professional development is accessible with only a few taps on my phone or laptop.
What’s great about Twitter is that this one outlet can be used to gather new information about organizations, individuals, fields of interest, and industry-specific keywords that you can then use to build your professional network. Here are my five observations about the unexpected benefits of Twitter:
- Start by following one organization or person that you think might be relevant to your professional interests. Find the thought leaders that you could learn from. Then see who they follow, and follow those people too. Repeat the process and you’ll begin to build a network of information.
- Once you follow a person or organization, each time you log into Twitter their posts come to your feed and you can easily keep up to date on what’s happening at a specific company, find out about new job/internship opportunities, or learn about changes in an industry.
- By finding and following these new connections, you can learn new keywords related to your field of interest. For example, I’m interested in corporate social responsibility and by following related organizations, I learned that the term ‘corporate social entrepreneurship’ is also relevant. Knowing more of the relevant language and having a better understanding of how fields are connected will be useful in your job search. Just don’t forget to make sure you are including this important vocabulary in your LinkedIn’s summary, on your resume, or in a cover letter.
- Using Twitter can help you to further create your own professional identity. By learning this industry-specific vocabulary, I am finding it easier to define what I might want to do and to describe myself better to potential employers. My 60-second elevator speech is stronger than ever.
- As you gather new information, you can start engaging with others by sharing and producing content. Creating a Twitter account solely for career development can help establish your professional web presence. You will be able to show potential employers that you are serious about the industries you claim to want to pursue and you will have a built-in network of professional colleagues before you even begin that first job post-graduation.
We’re all busy college students. Professional development at our age doesn’t have to compete with that essay due tomorrow or that lecture you wanted to attend. Waiting for office hours or on the Exchange bus? Spend those few minutes and use Twitter to gather information and further your job search. It’s really that simple!
— Sarah Jane Huber ’14