Twitter and RSS in

the Job Search

© 2010 David Swinney

Dallas-Ft.Worth Edition

Version 2.0

The Big 3 Social Networks

Big 3 Usage Comparison

More than 50% of updates are posted via mobile and web-based tools other than Twitter.com.

Twitter

It’s All About the Dialogue!

What is Twitter?

A social network An information network where everyday, millions of users create, share and discover ideas

Users• Share their experiences, both good and bad

• Provide feedback on recent events

• Learn about exclusive deals or offers

• Get customer service

How Does Twitter Work?

Write and read messages of up to 140

characters, including all punctuation and

spaces

Messages (tweets) are public

Decide which accounts you want to

receive messages from

Twitter Statistics February 22, 2010

Twitter hits 50M tweets per day

Twitter Statistics

Twitter Statistics

Before You Start

Listen first

No account is required to search at

search.twitter.com

Decide how you want to engage

Search for your company, professional

interest(s), and a few key topics in your field

Filter geographically to increase relevancy

Getting Started

Sign up for an account

Choose a short, memorable name

Fill out your profile completely and

include a picture

◦ Helps people recognize and trust your

account

Key Terms

A tweet is an individual message

To follow somebody is to subscribe to their tweets

A DM (direct message) is a private message on Twitter

To RT (retweet) is to repost a valuable message from somebody else on Twitter and give them credit

Trending topics are the most-discussed terms on Twitter at any given moment

Twitter Lingo

@username is a public message to or

about an individual

A hashtag—the # symbol followed by a

term and included in tweets—is a way of

categorizing all the posts on a topic

Shortened URLs—To fit links into the

short messages, Twitter shrinks some

URLs down automatically

The Twitter Interface

Twitter Overview

Your tweets make up a timeline

Your home page shows a list of recent tweets by those that you follow

People who subscribe to your timeline are your ―followers‖

Following back is optional

You can tweet or respond publicly or privately via DM

Finding People to Follow

Finding People to Follow

Upload your contact list to see who you know is already on Twitter

Use search.twitter.com to find other people that you know

Use twellow.com and wefollow.com(organized by industry and interest)

◦ Look for people to follow

◦ List yourself

See who is recommended by people that you follow (#ff, #followfriday)

What Should You Tweet?

People like

◦ tips, links to interesting stories/blog

posts, and a good sense of humor

◦ the human touch and will appreciate

posts with your thoughts and

experiences more than you think

◦ when you say hello, and respond to their

questions, comments, praise, complaints

and jokes

Twitter Best Practices

Build relationships

◦ Listen for comments about you

◦ Respond to comments and queries

◦ Ask questions

◦ Post links to things people would find

interesting

◦ Retweet messages you would like to share

◦ Use a friendly, casual tone

◦ Don’t spam people

Twitter Best Practices

Be nice

◦ Acknowledge information sources

◦ Converse and connect

◦ Build a trusted group

◦ Return favors without being asked

◦ Be sensitive to others

◦ Respect everyone

Twitter Help

Twitter Value Proposition

To understand the value of Twitter and gain

benefit from your involvement, give more

than you expect to receive.

Dave Taylor,

DaveTaylorOnline.com

Desktop Third-Party Tools

TweetDeck

Browser-based Third-Party Tools

HootSuite

Twitter Mobile

Applications available for

◦ iPhone/iPod Touch

Tweetie

HootSuite

◦ Android

◦ BlackBerry

◦ Windows Phone

Using Twitter in

the Job Search

How Companies Use Twitter to Find

Candidates

Many big companies list job openings on

Twitter

Cheaper and less-crowded alternative to

job boards

Allows them to

◦ target social media-savvy job hunters

◦ convey an innovative image

How Candidates Use Twitter to Find

Fobs

Follow feeds that aggregate jobs from

multiple companies

Use Twitter search to research prospective

employers

Locate/connect with individuals who work

at targeted companies

Interact directly with companies' recruiters

More convenient than job boards

Maximizing Twitter for the Job

Search Connect your Twitter feed to LinkedIn

Follow people in your field to be

connected and informed on industry

news and trends

Create your follower list by posting

regular updates on topics of interest

Build your network by following relevant

groups, associations and professional lists

Twitter – LinkedIn Integration

Twitter to LinkedIn

◦ Add your Twitter account to LinkedIn

◦ Designate which tweets are displayed as your

LinkedIn status

Twitter – LinkedIn Integration

Twitter to LinkedIn

◦ Use #in or #li hashtag

◦ Add to any part of a tweet

◦ Use at anytime; will override existing settings

Twitter – LinkedIn Integration

LinkedIn to Twitter

◦ Check the box next to the Twitter icon on

the LinkedIn home page

◦ Updates will be posted to Twitter

Maximizing Twitter for the Job

Search Use tools such as JobDeck

◦ Allows job seekers to search specific topics relative to an industry

Create a Twitter list

◦ Add companies you’re interested in working for

Utilize Tweetafile.com

◦ Share/send your resume when requested

Spend a minimum of15 minutes daily

◦ posting tweets

◦ reviewing comments by others in your field

Desktop Third-Party Tools

JobDeck

Use TweetDeck as a Dashboard

Job-Related Twitter Feeds

CareerDFWJobs

Pulled from

CareerDFW.com

Actions

◦ Subscribe

◦ Share via RT

◦ Share some more

Job-Related Twitter Feed Resources

101 Best Twitter Feeds for Job Hunters

◦ http://greengigs.blogspot.com/2009/02/101-best-twitter-feeds-

for-job-hunters.html

100 Useful Twitter Tools and Feeds for Your Job

Search

◦ http://www.jobprofiles.org/library/job-search/100-useful-

twitter.htm

101 Twitter Feeds to Help You Land a Job

◦ http://www.jobprofiles.org/library/job-

search/100_twitter_feeds_for_job_search.htm

RSSIt’s Not Just for News Anymore

What is RSS?

Really Simple Syndication

User-initiated subscriptions that provide updates, news headlines, or other content directly to the user for browsing at their convenience

Pull vs. push

Benefits of RSS

Receive updates without visiting each web site

Can quickly monitor large number of sites

Short summaries or ―table of contents‖

Alternative to email notifications

◦ Lessen e-mail overload

◦ No rejection of messages by email filters

◦ Reduce spam building opportunities

Uses of RSS

News and announcements

Blog postings and comments

Photos

Podcasts / music

Auction items

TV and movie listings

Search results

Tweets

Job postings

Many more

Access RSS

RSS Readers download/display feeds

◦ Desktop application FeedDemon

◦ Browser-based application Sage (Firefox add-in)

◦ Web-hosted service Google Reader

Feedly

Netvibes

◦ Mobile

Desktop RSS Reader – FeedDemon

Browser application RSS Reader –

(Firefox/Sage)

Hosted RSS Reader – Google Reader

Hosted RSS Reader – feedly

RSS Mobile

Applications available for

◦ iPhone/iPod Touch

Reeder

iNews

Pro RSS

◦ Android

◦ BlackBerry

◦ Windows Phone

Using Google Reader

Monitoring Your Brand With

Google Reader◦ http://www.slideshare.net/davidswinney/monitoring

-your-personal-brand-using-google-reader

Using RSS in the

Job Search

RSS in the Job Search - Indeed

RSS in the Job Search -

CareerBuilder

RSS in the Job Search -

TwitJobSearch

RSS in the Job Search -

TwitJobSearch

RSS in the Job Search –

LinkedIn Network Updates

RSS in the Job Search –

LinkedIn Network Updates

RSS in the Job Search –

LinkedIn Answers

RSS in the Job Search –

LinkedIn Answers

RSS in the Job Search -

CareerDFWJobs

RSS in the Job Search -

CareerDFWJobs

RSS in the Job Search -

CareerDFWJobs

Job-Related RSS Feed Resources

How to Use RSS in Your Job Search

◦ http://www.timeatlas.com/web_sites/general/how_to_use_rss

_in_your_job_search

Find a Job Using RSS Feeds & Google Reader

◦ http://www.watchingthenet.com/search-for-jobs-with-google-

reader-and-rss-feeds.html

Screencast: How to create a RSS feed from an

Indeed.com job search

◦ http://www.timeatlas.com/tutorials/indeed.htm

Thank You

David SwinneySocial Media Specialistdavid.swinney@gmail.comhttp://twitter.com/davidswinneyhttp://linkedin.com/in/davidswinneyhttp://davidswinney.posterous.com

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