Twitter: Networking and Professionalism

Recently I read an article all about networking, and a topic definitely caught my eye. It was mostly related to networking through social media, and my first thought has always been to do so through LinkedIn, it’s the obvious first option when it comes to networking online. There are some social media websites that we use, and not usually for professional purposes. 



Twitter networking is also an excellent way to make connections online and it can be done by following campus recruiters, companies of interest and other twitter members who are working/recruiting in your field of interest. By doing so you have given yourself the option of being followed back by these individuals, and provided yourself with a closer link to the company (able to see current openings, job postings, as well as interesting and often helpful career related articles). 


Before you begin networking on Twitter it’s best to clean up your twitter a bit, fortunately it’s a lot easier than cleaning up your Facebook since you probably have a lot less photo’s and personal information. After reading a blog post by Lauren K. Gray I have learned a few tips and thought I would pass them a long to you. 

When it comes to tweeting “keep it 80% professional and 20% personal”

If you are actively searching for a job, make sure to not tweet about any of the following;

  • Wanting to work for x and x companies
  • Topics around the subject of sleeping naked in your bed
  • Being trashed every weekend
  • Posting pictures to twitpic of rowdy weekends
  • Every single tweet about what your cat is doing
  • Direct insult tweets – do NOT start an online fight
  • Anything to do with #teamfollowback – it’s annoying
  • Depressing tweets over and over
  • What you are doing every single minute of the day
  • Tweets just to be tweeting
And then most importantly “When in doubt, don’t tweet it out”
 

Also a great way to make your Twitter profile more professional, is to have a “classy” photo and profile description. Twitter is more “casual” than LinkedIn so this doesn’t have to be an image of you wearing a business suit, but keep it classy.

Something like this probably wouldn’t be the best….

 Also make sure to keep your twitter bio geared towards the school you go to/the job you hold as well as possibly writing about your hobbies and interests, you can also add a link to your LinkedIn account or other personal website that will help showcase your credentials as well. 

Check out this how to guide from dummies.com

 
Tips on finding the right people to follow;
  • Find a reputable twitter member who is involved in career related advice, job postings etc. they are often following reputable individuals on twitter who can be great to network with
  • Go through LinkedIn and check out job postings in your related field, see if you can find the recruiter’s profile on Twitter
  • Check out the websites for companies your interested in, they will often have a twitter account