Keppie Careers

Social media speaker, social media consultant, job search coach

Guest post: Do something new for your job hunt, PT II

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twitterppl1824234195_e6b913c563_mThis is Part II of a guest post from Jessica Lewis. Jessica is a job seeker who joined Twitter about a month ago with the intention
of using it to help her drive her own career bus. She has been writing a Twitter-for-beginners series on her blog (which you should read!)

You can find Jessica on Twitter @copytailor.

Read Part I HERE, where Jessica addresses hesitations about joining Twitter.

Focus your Twitter usage.

I heard that a college football coach recently said that those on Twitter are “a bunch of narcissists that want to sit and type stuff about themselves all the time.” Twitter sure does lend itself to facilitating narcissists, but using it doesn’t automatically make you a narcissist. You are going to enter Twitter as a niche user.

Career-focused people have smartly taken Twitter and focused it for their own use. They tweet actual information. They work to be seen as unique voices on Twitter. That means they don’t bother with the silly, time-wasting stuff generally associated with Twitter.

And as long as you more often than not aim your tweets at advancing your job search and show interest in others, Twitter will actually facilitate your success. And just as you see the value in a niche blog like this one, you’ll see the value in everyone’s niche microblog.

You can start from scratch. I did.

Step 1 is the most difficult: You’re going to start a Twitter account from scratch. This seems daunting because here you are with a pathetic number of followers trying to get the attention of people with thousands and thousands of followers. Trust me, no one will ever view your follower count as pathetic. If you are focusing your tweets, people will see that you are trying to be a valuable contributor to their conversation. Everyone on Twitter started from scratch. You just happen to be doing that right now. No big deal.

Here’s the bottom line about Twitter: It’s here right now, the people you need are on it, and it will help you get things done faster, whether advancing your career, learning information or targeting your job search. Just ignore the hype and perceptions, think of yourself as a unique voice in what you do (and if you’re not sure what that voice is, don’t worry because you’ll end up developing one), and get really good at being concise!

I’ll be happy to help your follower count grow. Just send me a tweet saying you found me on Keppie Careers.

Need help getting your job hunt going? Learn more about me and Keppie Careers!

Guest post: You can do something new for your job hunt

By

twitterpsych2382680812_34858bec65_mThis is a guest post from Jessica Lewis. Jessica is a job seeker who joined Twitter about a month ago with the intention of using it to help her drive her own career bus. She has been writing a Twitter-for-beginners series on her blog (which you should read!)

You can find Jessica on Twitter @copytailor.

If you’re reading this post, you’re obviously familiar with the concept of sharing information and opinions via blogs. And you’re familiar with the concept of niche blogs, like this one.

Remember back when blogs were a new concept? When they were generalized as boring ramblings from people enamored with themselves? No one I knew had a blog. I would have been embarrassed to write a blog back then because I would have been seen as enamored with myself.

The general perception of blogs back then is not much different from the general perception of Twitter now. It’s humorous when you realize Twitter is classified as microblogging! What’s wrong with the public perception is it’s making you miss out on great experiences and opportunities — two things that, I know from experience, you likely are sorely lacking as a job seeker.

If you’re going to be a sheep, at least be one with a clue.

Let’s say you feel uncomfortable joining Twitter because you think you’ll be one of the sheep. The people you know perceive Twitter in a negative, time-wasting way. And no one you know is on Twitter. These people are all just staying within their comfort zone, doing what they’ve always done, telling you they don’t have time for the silliness of Twitter.

Let me tell you something: You become a sheep anyway for following them.

You have read about Twitter on Keppie Careers. I know from experience that you likely have been turning away from such praise for Twitter — if you ignore it, it’ll go away and you can feel good that you kept doing what you’ve been doing and thinking, “Oh, I’m not falling for that one!”

One thing I’ve learned in my job search: Do not keep doing something if it’s not working. It sounds like common sense, but with you’re dealing with so many unknowns in a job search, it’s easy to fall back on old advice or latch onto one piece of advice you read online or do what other people do because it’s easier to follow than lead. You want to follow the herd you’re familiar with. The problem is that herd isn’t looking out for you.

Stay tuned for more from Jessica tomorrow!

Need help getting your job hunt going? Learn what I offer job seekers!

photo by xotoko