Latest news : Tweeting for jobs

A twitter user recently sent the networking platform’s 20 billionth tweet. With graduate jobs at a premium, can social networking really help you land a job?

Almost all of us will have Facebook accounts, some of us will tweet away on Twitter and a few hardy individuals will be listed on LinkedIn.

Normally graduates use these sites to chat to friends and do a bit of flirting, but many are missing out on an opportunity to job hunt.

The premier network for job hunting is LinkedIn, which allows members to post CVs, interests and connect to people in similar industries. Members can give and receive recommendations from other workers, which can be invaluable in building relationships and getting noticed.

However, this works well for graduates who have already cracked the industry they want to work in and are looking to move onwards and upwards. What about those who are still trying to make the breakthrough?

Using sites like Twitter can open up a whole network of contacts to a job hunter. However, the key is offer something useful to other users of the site, rather than simply coming across as someone desperate for a job.

It’s important to show personality and engage with your audience. Look at websites that relate to your industry and post links to interesting articles. Retweet other people’s links. Use hashtags to reach people who aren’t following you.

Once you have a feel for how the network works, don’t be afraid to get in contact with industry professionals and recruiters. Ask whether they have any jobs going and about the type of person they look to recruit.