How to find a job on Twitter

If you feel guilty for doom scrolling on Twitter when you’re supposed to be job hunting, you don’t necessarily have to leave the app. What if the social media you are using to procrastinate is where you could find your next job? Twitter can connect you to more than just memes – you just need to know how to look.

Looking employable on Twitter

While your Twitter account doesn’t have to be as wordy as your LinkedIn account, it should do a good job of describing your and your work. 

Use a clear headshot. Consider using the same one you use for LinkedIn so people can make the connection between the platforms. Make your cover photo something that reflects your personality so your network knows there’s more to life than work.

You can choose if your bio includes where you live. Some jobs prefer local hires, so seeing a city could spark some bias.

Besides that, use your bio to share what you studied in school, if it is related to the job you are seeking. It can also include your side hustle or hobbies – especially if it provides transferable skills for a job you want in the future. 

Once you’ve set up the way you will be introduced to the Twitter world, it’s time to tweet.

Twitter is fuelled by engagement, so tweeting at least once a day will keep your profile at the top of the TL. It will also give people an idea of what they will experience if they follow you.

Talks about trends in the industry, comment on current events in the news, share memes about popular shows but also workplace trends. Your tweets should show that you are professional, but that it is also a way to share your personality. 

Finding employers on Twitter

When you’re satisfied with your profile and connections, it’s time to begin the art of the search.

To keep it simple, you should find as many companies’ twitter accounts as you can. It’s important to stay up to date with their tweets so you can interact in replies, retweet promising jobs to your other followers, and apply to jobs before their deadlines.

You can get notified every time the account tweets by clicking the bell icon next to the follow button.

Source: @DisneyCareers  

Companies often have Twitter accounts dedicated for careers, in addition to recruiters who use their individual accounts to seek people out. 

For example, Disney has multiple Twitter accounts: one for the studio, one for their streaming service, one for all careers, and even a Twitter account specifically for animation careers.

Source: @DisneyStudios

Source: @DisneyCareers  

Source: @DisneyPlus 

Source: @DisneyAnimJobs 

With your polished Twitter handle, you can reach out to the company or recruiters directly via direct message or tweet at them to get more information about their career options.

Refining your search

If you don’t have a specific company in mind, you must turn to the general search bar. This can give you a lot of results, so you should try to narrow it down as much as possible. 

You can refine your search by filtering out specific words and finding exact phrases for job ads. Your advanced search options look like this:

All of these words

Use this filter to search for job positions, qualifications, levels of management, and the most obvious qualifier – the fact that you’re looking for a job.

• i.e. “marketing” and “hiring” and “job” 

This exact phrase

You can also filter exact phrases you are looking for in addition to your other qualifiers, such as a type of job, compensation, location etc. 

• i.e. “hiring marketing director”, “benefits include”, “remote job” 

Any of these words

You can also filter out more jobs and phrases by including as many words as possible without needing all them to give you results. 

• i.e. “hiring” or “hire” or “marketing” or “job” or “director” or “manager”

None of these words

You can exclude words from your search to avoid finding positions or fields that are often associated with the job you are seeking in, but that you are not interested in: 

• I.e. excluding the word  “communications” if you are seeking a marketing job because sometimes the roles are combined

These hashtags

• I.e. #hiringnow

Language 

Specify the languages you would like to see tweets in if you are monolingual and want to save time, or if you know more than one language and want to be a competitive applicant.

From these accounts:

If you know the company or recruiter and you want to find more information on, you can search the words, accompanied by their twitter handle: 

• i.e. @Spotify, @Deloitte

To these accounts:

You can also isolate their tweets that are replies:

• I.e. @CallmeTobzz

Mentioning these accounts:

You can also filter out tweets that mention a specific account:

• I.e. @FinanceCanada 

Other filters:

You can also filter if you want tweets with or without replies to see posts before or after they have picked up traction. 

You can filter out links to job posting compared to tweets with images. 

You can even filter for engagement, like how many likes, retweets, or replies a tweet gets – which could tell you how many applicants could be applying.

Finally, you can filter for dates. 

How companies are attracting talent on Twitter

The good news is: while you’re on Twitter looking for work, companies are on Twitter looking for you. 

Twitter is a popular social network company for two groups that recruiters are seeking the most. They need university grads and people between the ages of 18 and 29 to fill entry level jobs and they need mid-career, city-based professionals who pull higher salaries to fill their senior positions.

Twitter’s demographic makes it the perfect hunting ground for small and medium-sized businesses. The best way to find you is to draw you in by the thousands. And they can do that with the help of hashtags.  

Hashtags

Recruiters use hashtags to centralize their job postings. 

These are some popular hashtags to follow:

1. #JobSearch
2. #JobHunt
3. #JobOpening
4. #Hiring
5. #NowHiring
6. #Resume
7. #Job or #Jobs
8. #Careers
9. #Employment
10.  #HR or #HumanResources
11.  #TweetMyJobs
12.  #JobListing
13.  #JobTips
14.  #JobHuntChat
15.  #GraduateJobs

Hashtags are also a great way to join conversations with other job seekers. Your network can be full of managers and recruiters, but other employees at the same level of experience as you will be great to learn from too. It’s about putting yourself in the rooms that will provide you to learn more and be presented with new opportunities. 

Luckily, Twitter has a space for that too.

Using Twitter Spaces

Twitter Spaces is a live chat room where people can host spaces to discuss a topic of their choice. Only people with more than 600 followers can host conversations. If you’re not there yet, this is a great way to get connected with people who have already established a network. 

While the host leads the conversation, they can also invite speakers to share their perspectives while other Twitter users can listen to the conversation. 

If you decide to use Twitter Spaces for career-building, it can be like a networking event without the dress code. You can discover new developments in your industry and meet the people leading the discussions. You can also be invited to speak up too. That’s why it’s important to connect with people hosting spaces, bond over the shared industry, what you want to learn, and what you can teach others. You could meet future colleagues, mentors, or bosses by simply tuning in and turning on your mic. 

Exploring the right topics

When you’re exploring Twitter Spaces, look at top events to see what’s popular and if there are connections you would like to foster with notable professionals. You should also scope out scheduled events to see who regularly attends certain Twitter Spaces. Familiarize yourself with the new group of people who are waiting to build connections, like you.

You don’t have to worry about bothering people with questions. The whole point of Twitter Spaces is to get people talking. 

Prepare a few questions in advance. Take notes during the conversation and identify the people you want to connect with afterwards. An easy icebreaker is talking about what resonated the most from Twitter Spaces and letting the conversation flow from there. 

More than a dumpster fire

Twitter can be so much more than a place to get bad news and funny memes. 

It wasn’t intended for career networking, so it does not carry the same pressure or expectations as LinkedIn. But that doesn’t mean it is any less helpful. 

Jermaine Murray is a career coach and a Wealthsimple technical recruiter known as the Jobfather. He has mastered the art of connection. 

The Jobfather’s relationship building, career mentorship, and referrals have helped people transition into tech, elevate their professional development, and land jobs all over the country. 

He uses clients’ experience to communicate transferable skills for new roles. He makes introductions to people in his network to hire and collaborate with each other. And many of the Jobfather’s professional connections began on Twitter and carried over to his LinkedIn. 

Where there is social connection, there is an opportunity for professional connection too. It’s up to you to find the spot that works best for you.

In episode seven of 3Skills’s podcast, Building Your Dream Career, Jermaine points out that there are many informal and grassroots networking events springing from Twitter that you won’t find on LinkedIn groups. 

Take it from the Jobfather: 

“In this day and age, you do a disservice by limiting yourself to just one specific social media channel.”