A New Job Just a Tweet Away

[question everything]

SEPTEMBER 8, 2009

A New Job Just a Tweet Away

By SARAH E. NEEDLEMAN
WSJ

More companies are tweeting for hires. As online job boards have grown crowded amid the recession, many big companies, including Microsoft Corp., Verizon Communications Inc., Raytheon Corp. and Viacom Inc.'s MTV Networks, now list job openings on the Twitter microblogging site. For employers, Twitter — where users post updates, or "tweets," of no more than 140 characters — offers one more way to find and attract candidates, and a cheaper alternative to big online job boards. It also helps companies target social-media-savvy job hunters and convey an innovative image. For job seekers, Twitter offers the chance to interact one-on-one with companies' recruiters and can be more convenient than job boards.

Job hunters can sign up to follow a company's listings on Twitter or receive tweets about jobs through a third-party service. They usually need to click a link in the tweet to access the listing online, where they can submit their résumé or application. They can also reply to the tweet with a question or comment; sometimes, employers tweet back. With so many people looking for jobs now, some employers say they like that Twitter yields just enough job leads — but not too many. Job boards have "become saturated," says Mike Rickheim, vice president of global talent acquisition for Newell Rubbermaid Inc., a global manufacturer based in Atlanta.

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People who respond to job tweets typically have social-media skills, and some employers say they use the service to target them.. But the image issue cuts both ways, he notes, and job seekers don't always pay enough attention to how they appear to employers on Twitter. Recently a follower of Verizon's jobs feed tweeted to the company something along the lines of, "Hey dude, you got any jobs in California?" says Mr. Zulfiqar. The writer's casual tone made a poor impression, he says. "I want to see something more professional," he says. "You want to put your best foot forward."

Indeed, people trolling for jobs on Twitter need to tweet with care — not just when they're interacting with employers.. Hiring managers could use information they find on Twitter, just as on Facebook, to form opinions about an applicant's employability. People sometimes disclose personal things over Twitter, like work-family challenges, that an employer couldn't ask about in an interview but which might color their impression if they knew. For example, if an employer sees on Twitter that a candidate is going through a messy divorce, they might "assume you're going to be distracted."

Job seekers can do their own sleuthing on Twitter to research prospective employers. In June, Rob Totaro landed an interview for an account-manager job at Potratz Partners Advertising, a small agency in Schenectady, N.Y., after learning about the position on Twitter. In the meeting, he joked that he wasn't sure he could work for a firm that supports the Red Sox, which he had discovered from reading tweets the company posted about a recent employee outing to a ballgame. "It was a great ice breaker," says Mr. Totaro. He got the job.

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Printed in The Wall Street Journal, page B7

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB20001424052970204584404574393102737256542.html (subscription)