Twitter Users Top Of The Pile For Job Interviews
"Employers do not want to take chances."
-- Sung Won Sohn, an economist at California State University, Channel Islands.
It's becoming harder than ever to get your Résumé read by a real person. "Human Resource people are drowning in Résumés (stacked on their desks) and despite their best intentions, many can't keep up," says executive recruiter Mike Travis. For the third straight month, the private sector hired cautiously in July 2010. Private employers reported a net gain of 71,000 jobs for July 2010 -- far below the 200,000 it takes for the unemployment rate just to hold steady and keep pace with the growing work force. Job seekers face tough competition these days. On average, there are 4.7 people vying for each opening. That's down from the peak of 6.3 last year, but more than double the 1.8 unemployed per opening when the recession began in December 2007. All told, there were 14.6 million people unemployed in July 2010. 25.8 million people were "underemployed" in July. Help your Résumé win the attention it deserves by (Tweeting your Résumé and) following these up-to-date tips from industry insiders.
Tweet Your Résumé!
Résumé: The Advertisement of an "Applicant's" skills, qualifications and experience.
Résumés@Twitter $99.99!Click here!
We have 1,000+ Twitter followers as of September 16, 2010. Our Twitter following grows by the day!
What is Twitter (Tweeting)?
Twitter is a social networking and microblogging service, owned and operated by Twitter Inc., that enables its users to send and read other user messages called tweets. Tweets are text-based posts of up to 140 characters displayed on the author's profile page. Tweets are publicly visible by default, however senders can restrict message delivery to their friends list. Users may subscribe to other author tweets—this is known as following and subscribers are known as followers. As of late 2009, users can follow lists of authors instead of following individual authors. All users can send and receive tweets via the Twitter website, compatible external applications (such as, for smartphones), or by Short Message Service (SMS) available in certain countries. Since its creation in 2006 by Jack Dorsey, Twitter has gained notability and popularity worldwide and currently has more than 100 million users worldwide.
By March 2010, Twitter recorded a 1,500% increase in the number of registered users and its staff had grown fivefold. Over 70,000 registered applications have been created for Twitter, according to the company. Twitter had 400,000 tweets posted per quarter in 2007. This grew to 100 million tweets posted per quarter in 2008. By the end of 2009, 2 billion tweets per quarter were being posted. In the first quarter of 2010, 4 billion tweets have been posted. Currently, about 65 million tweets are posted each day, equalling about 750 tweets sent each second, according to Twitter.
Many job openings exist only in the minds of directors, vice presidents, and other company bigwigs, long before the job is finally advertised in newspapers or on the Internet.
Twitter is ranked as one of the 50 most visited websites worldwide by Alexa's web traffic analysis. Daily user estimates vary because the company does not release the number of active accounts. Twitter is mainly used by older adults who might not have used other social sites before Twitter, says Jeremiah Owyang, an industry analyst studying social media. "Adults are just catching up to what teens have been doing for years," he said. According to comScore only 11% of Twitter's users are aged 12 to 17. According to a study by Sysomos in June 2009, women make up a slightly larger Twitter demographic than men — 53% over 47%. It also stated that New York has the most Twitter users.
What do people tweet about?
Everything! From the most mundane (going to sleep) to the most personal, (having a baby!) people say it all on Twitter. You don't have to say exactly what you're doing, you can say whatever you want. Share random thoughts, post a link, say what you're listening to or what you dreamt about. You can post something as simple as "Eating a sandwich."
People like to share. Companies, news agencies, celebrities, and even the President have information to share! They use Twitter to share important information. Twitter is a way for companies, celebrities and other organizations to communicate with people.
Twitter sends and receives millions of different kinds of messages from all over the world in real time. Suddenly what you're doing is also part of what everyone is doing, right at this very moment. For this reason, news (of employment opportunities and your Résumé) breaks first on Twitter. When something happens, Twitter is the first to know because people who are there are talking about it. To see this for yourself, visit Twitter search and type in any word to see what people are saying about it right now. Check out the topics that are most interesting to all of Twitter in the trends section of the sidebar.
Why Should you use Twitter to Tweet your Résumé?
If you can present yourself as the perfect candidate at this early stage, an employer may snap you up without looking elsewhere.
When was the last time you paid money to view someone else's Résumé online? Probably never, and chances are you wouldn't be inclined to do so. Yahoo HotJobs boasts a database of nearly 30 million resumes (Is your Résumé in this pile?). They also charge potentials employers $360.00 to view Résumés for a thirty (30) day time period and $999.00 to view Résumés for a ninety (90) day time period. The chance of the employer finding your Résumé on Yahoo HotJobs is 1 in 30 million.
Monster Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE: MWW) is the parent company of Monster.com, another online employment website for people seeking jobs, charges the potential employers $150.00 to conduct a two (2) week Résumé search.
The cost alone to the employer to view your Résumé, diminishes the chance an employer will even see your Résumé. Your Résumé must stand out on websites with millions of Résumés. Even so, this is no guarantee the employer will find your one (1) Résumé, out of 30 million other Résumés.
If you are wondering why you aren’t called in to interview for great job opportunities, it’s undoubtedly because your Résumé was not “powerfully [highlighted,]” which significantly undersold your abilities and experience. Nearly all applicants fail to adequately highlight themselves in a way that increases their chances of being selected for further evaluation. While you may actually be a very good fit for the roles and the organizations to which you have applied, chances are that your Résumé wasn't visible and could not instill that "highly visible, initiative, or take charge perception" in the 15-20 seconds that those charged with screening resumes typically spend per applicant. "Employers do not want to take chances," said Sung Won Sohn, an economist at California State University, Channel Islands.
Tweeting your Résumé@Rezoomay
Rezoomay@Twitter: We tweet under the pseudonym Wilabee. As of August 6, 2010, we boast 1,000+ Twitter followers. Our followers are worldwide (Global and speak many different languages). They consist of Fortune 500 companies, media & news outlets, political parties, Doctors, Lawyers, Tech Companies, Medical & Health Care Professionals, small Businesses, non-profit organizations and many other employment industry fields (click on any link to visit one of our followers).
For $99.99, we will tweet your Résumé & Cover letter to all 1,000+ Twitter followers (our following grows daily). This means Fortune 500 companies, media & news outlets, political parties, Doctors, Lawyers, Tech Companies, Medical & Health Care Professionals, small Businesses, non-profit organizations and many other employment industry fields will not only know you are seeking employment, they will have access to your Résumé, as well as the option and ability to retweet your Résumé to thousands of other Twitter users/employers. (Click on the sample Résumé Tweet below:)
If you clicked on the above (sample Résumé Tweet) photograph, then you saw what our 1,000+ followers see (when we tweet your Résumé ) and what their followers see, upon any (optional) retweet.
Followers Optional Service
Twitter's new retweet (RT) feature!
Sometimes a Twitter user/employer comes across a (Résumé) Tweet that they just have to share- Tweets can be a big deal when they're [a Résumé,] newsworthy, informative, or even just really funny. Twitter's new retweet (RT) feature helps people quickly share information [and Résumés], which is pretty much what Twitter is all about.
[A retweet of your Résumé is accomplished by a Twitter user/employer] hovering over a (Résumé) Tweet, and clicking the retweet link, and the retweet is done! A click of a button shares an interesting tweet (your Résumé) with all of a Twitter user/employer's followers. Our followers have followings ranging from 20,000 followers to 1,000,000 (plus) followers. Like a tweet, a retweet can be undone, or deleted?
Example: Mayor Cory Booker, Newark, New Jersey follows our Tweets at Twitter. Cory Booker has 1,000,000+ followers. Accordingly, Corey Booker has the option of retweeting your Résumé to his 1,000,000+ followers. We make no offer or guarantee that Cory Booker will retweet your Résumé. Once we Tweet Your Résumé, Cory Booker will have the option of retweeting your Résumé.
Recognizing Retweets in Timelines and Profiles
Retweeting isn't just a great way to spread information (and your Résumé) through the twitter network; it's also a great way for you to discover new and interesting employment opportunities. Twitter now shows retweet information for all public tweets. Retweets in Timelines are distinguished by the retweet icon next to the author's picture. When someone you follow retweets (this happens when evan_1., clicks on the above yes button) you’ll see the original tweet and a picture of the tweet’s original author (our picture), with the retweeter’s name (evan_1.) below (retweets in Profiles are indicated by the retweet icon as well). At this point, your Résumé will forward to 1,000's of Twitter accounts (depending on the number of followers the retweeter has).
Rezoomay's Reweeted Résumé Service
For $9.99, we will retweet your Résumé & Cover letter to all 1,000+ Twitter followers.
Utilizing our retweeted Résumé service allows your Résumé to remain actively networked! Accordingly, all Résumés are assigned a unique number (see above photo).
Order Your Résumé Tweet!
Other Options!
You could use one of the many services that have been using Twitter for jobs far longer than Monster has – they’re a little late to the game, but better late than never. TwitterJobSearch is a job search engine for Twitter, TweetMyJobs has over 5700 vertical channels for specific job types and locations, and can also filter out the ones not relevant to a job seeker, and just send the suitable jobs as a text to their cell phone. Pretty cool, huh? They also have a service called TweetMyResume where you can tweet your resume to 90,000+ followers. Sure, not everyone’s going to be ON twitter at that moment but the key is that it’s search able. JobShouts is yet another, that filters out the spammy “work at home” opportunities claiming you, too, can become a millionaire simply by stuffing envelopes in just minutes a day!
* "Keep it shorter, tighter, and more laser-focused," advises resume expert Louise Kursmark. "Resumes are by necessity becoming crisper and more to the point." With Twitter, texting, and a barrage of quick-hit multimedia messages, we're getting accustomed to the succinct. "Readers quickly lose interest in wordy resumes that don't get right to the point," she says. This goes for cover letters, too.
* "Show some humor or personality," says Jennifer Turner, of Talagy recruiting and staffing company. "I recently called a candidate, even though he didn't match any current positions, because his online resume title was, 'Smart and Funny Sales Guy.'"
* "Make your resume read like a news story, not an encyclopedia entry," suggests Sam Levine, of The Buttonwood Group. Pop an eye-catching headline and lead on the top and be sure to include a summary of qualifications.
* "Be results-oriented," advises Erin Riley, assistant director of career services at the Chapman University School of Law. Whenever possible, quantify your accomplishments. Example: Instead of simply writing "Drafted OSHA appeal," she says, include results: "Drafted OSHA appeal resulting in 90% reduction of employer fine for employee's serious on-the-job injury."
* "Show what sets you apart," says Nancy Keene, a director of Stanton Chase global executive search firm. "I like to see some indication of personal interests. It's a good conversation trigger and provides some additional insight into who the person is."
Riley agrees. "It's an opportunity to make yourself memorable as an applicant," she says. While an actual Personal Interest section is not usually advised, you can find ways to integrate your interests into your resume. For example, you could list your volunteer activities to give hiring managers some sense of your passions.
* "Use appropriate keywords," suggests Kursmark. Since machines are increasingly reading your resume before people are, give the tracking systems what they're looking for: the most significant keywords from the job description that fit your qualifications -- anything from degrees to programming languages and other specialized job-related skills.
* "Let others sing your praises," says Richard Deems, co-author of "Make Job Loss Work for You." "We add a section at the end we title, 'What Others Say.' Then we list five short statements, usually without attribution, that others have said about the person." Examples: "Sticks with it until the job gets done," or "The most creative, prolific employee I've ever had."
* "If your name is difficult to pronounce, include your nickname," says Heather R. Huhman, president of Come Recommended. Like it or not, "Companies are more likely to call you for an interview if you provide a name they can easily pronounce," she says.
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