Can You Get a Job via Facebook or Twitter?

That's not a valid work email account. Please enter your work email (e.g. you@yourcompany.com)
Please enter your work email
(e.g. you@yourcompany.com)

socialCan you get a job via Facebook or Twitter? Absolutely! I landed my current job thanks to Twitter. I still remember telling my computer-wary coworkers about how I found my job. They were baffled. “Twitter?” they said, “You found this job through Twitter?”

Five years ago in 2007, when I first started using Twitter, it was mostly used by forum enthusiasts, youtubers, and big time gamers. Twitter differs from other social media sites in that it only allows its users to post 140 characters along, with the option of including a location and/or image. Years ago, Twitter earned a bad reputation because many so-called “entrepreneurs” tried, and still try, to abuse Twitter to gain more recognition for their real, or not so real, products. Nowadays Twitter is more widespread among celebrities, large reputable companies, small businesses, marketers, and personal account holders.

A friend of mine had worked for my current company. He told me the name of his recruiter and I looked her up online. I found her Twitter and started following her regularly. Because she had posted that she was attending a job fair in my area, I was able to meet her and interview for my current position. Meeting her in person was much better than sending an electronic application online and getting lost among hundreds of other applicants. Some people shy away from social media in fear that it will keep them away from people. Social media is meant to do the exact opposite. It is meant to bring people closer.

Social Media is recreating how people connect. Chances are, if you are computer savvy, you have a Facebook account. You write to your friends, share photos, and create event invitations online. If you have a smartphone, you can access your Facebook account nearly anytime, anywhere. Even if you and your friends live many miles apart, seeing their photos and reading their posts can make you feel much closer.

Want to find a job through Facebook ? When your friends post about a new job, congratulate them and ask them how they did it! Facebook is your personal network to start conversations. It is a lot more approachable than LinkedIn since Facebook usually contains people from your personal life.

Keeping your Facebook handy might help you find a job more quickly than you think. Using the status feature on Facebook, you can advertise to your friends that you are looking for work. You can find groups on Facebook for jobs and job seekers. Reconnecting with old high school friends or people from past jobs can also help you make connections that might lead to new positions.

Twitter is also a great tool for finding jobs. There are staffing agencies and job boards, such as TheLadders.com, that regularly post ways on finding jobs. You can search for recruiters on LinkedIn, see links to their Twitter accounts, and find out when they will be attending a job fair or other recruiting event. Some recruiters even post new jobs to their Twitter accounts. Seeing an update early on will put you in the front lines for a position.

Lastly, Social Media websites such as Facebook and Twitter are a great way to connect with recruiters because they usually make the online application process that much more personal. Because you can see each other’s photos and interests, you are more likely to feel like a person rather than another number in a pool of applicants.

By Laura Pierson