While Twitter is more often thought of as the place to find out the latest musings from your favourite celebrities, or for the bad press it’s gained for being a home for anonymous online trolls, Twitter it can be a valuable tool for helping you in your career too.
So here’s 3 ways you can use this social network to your advantage:
Staying up to date with industry news
Whatever industries you work in, all the major players – be that the leading businesses in the sector, trade publications or key individuals or leaders – will be posting their latest news. Keeping on top of recent developments, trends or advances means you can keep one step ahead of your colleagues when it comes to promotions, impressing a manager or bringing new ideas when you take a job with another company.
Of course, if you already have Twitter for purely personal reasons, you can employ the “Lists” feature to separate out your professional feed from your personal one.
Job alerts
Just like Facebook and Linked In, companies and recruitment agencies will be advertising their latest vacancies. Many big businesses have dedicated careers profiles. As well as their vacancies, many recruitment agencies and careers services will share extra advice to help you out when you’re applying for jobs and getting through interviews.
And who better to give advice than someone whose job is sourcing and hiring staff?
Expanding your own network
By sharing industry articles in your own sector, you’ll be able to attract the attention of others in the same field. If you’re showcasing your passion for what you do, then you’re likely to get noticed by other companies that are operating in your field – be that for jobs, or other business opportunities.
Get involved in the wider conversation around what you do: comment on what key figures are talking about and share your experiences and unique perspective on things. The big advantage Twitter has compared to Facebook and Linked In is that everything is public, so it’s perfectly acceptable on Twitter to comment on posts from people’s you don’t know! And by getting involved with influential people, you’ll piggy-back on some of their influence and it will build your reputation as someone who is knowledgeable about their field.
