Version 2.0, because things change. An overview of Twitter and RSS for those not familiar with either, with suggestions for how each technology can be leveraged in the job search process. This edition has some Dallas-Ft. Worth specific content, but is 90+% applicable to everyone. http://davidswinney.posterous.com/ http://linkedin.com/in/davidswinney/ http://twitter.com/davidswinney/

1. Twitter and RSS in
the Job Search
Dallas-Ft.Worth Edition
Version 2.0
© 2010 David Swinney

2. The Big 3 Social Networks

3. Big 3 Usage Comparison
More than 50% of updates are posted via mobile and web-based tools other than Twitter.com.

4. Twitter
It’s All About the Dialogue!

5. What is Twitter?
 A social network An information network
where everyday, millions of users create,
share and discover ideas
 Users
• Share their experiences, both good and bad
• Provide feedback on recent events
• Learn about exclusive deals or offers
• Get customer service

6. How Does Twitter Work?
 Write and read messages of up to 140
characters, including all punctuation and
spaces
 Messages (tweets) are public
 Decide which accounts you want to
receive messages from

7. Twitter Statistics February 22, 2010
Twitter hits 50M tweets per day

8. Twitter Statistics

9. Twitter Statistics

10. Before You Start
 Listen first
 No account is required to search at
search.twitter.com
 Decide how you want to engage
 Search for your company, professional
interest(s), and a few key topics in your field
 Filter geographically to increase relevancy

11. Getting Started
 Sign up for an account
 Choose a short, memorable name
 Fill out your profile completely and
include a picture
◦ Helps people recognize and trust your
account

12. Key Terms
 A tweet is an individual message
 To follow somebody is to subscribe to their
tweets
 A DM (direct message) is a private message
on Twitter
 To RT (retweet) is to repost a valuable
message from somebody else on Twitter and
give them credit
 Trending topics are the most-discussed
terms on Twitter at any given moment

13. Twitter Lingo
 @username is a public message to or
about an individual
 A hashtag—the # symbol followed by a
term and included in tweets—is a way of
categorizing all the posts on a topic
 Shortened URLs—To fit links into the
short messages, Twitter shrinks some
URLs down automatically

14. The Twitter Interface

15. Twitter Overview
 Your tweets make
up a timeline
 Your home page
shows a list of
recent tweets by
those that you
follow
 People who
subscribe to your
timeline are your
―followers‖
 Following back is
optional
 You can tweet or
respond publicly or
privately via DM

16. Finding People to Follow

17. Finding People to Follow
 Upload your contact list to see who
you know is already on Twitter
 Use search.twitter.com to find other
people that you know
 Use twellow.com and wefollow.com
(organized by industry and interest)
◦ Look for people to follow
◦ List yourself
 See who is recommended by people
that you follow (#ff, #followfriday)

18. What Should You Tweet?
 People like
◦ tips, links to interesting stories/blog
posts, and a good sense of humor
◦ the human touch and will appreciate
posts with your thoughts and
experiences more than you think
◦ when you say hello, and respond to their
questions, comments, praise, complaints
and jokes

19. Twitter Best Practices
 Build relationships
◦ Listen for comments about you
◦ Respond to comments and queries
◦ Ask questions
◦ Post links to things people would find
interesting
◦ Retweet messages you would like to share
◦ Use a friendly, casual tone
◦ Don’t spam people

20. Twitter Best Practices
 Be nice
◦ Acknowledge information sources
◦ Converse and connect
◦ Build a trusted group
◦ Return favors without being asked
◦ Be sensitive to others
◦ Respect everyone

21. Twitter Help

22. Twitter Value Proposition
To understand the value of Twitter and gain
benefit from your involvement, give more
than you expect to receive.
Dave Taylor,
DaveTaylorOnline.com

23. Desktop Third-Party Tools
TweetDeck

24. Browser-based Third-Party Tools
HootSuite

25. Twitter Mobile
 Applications available for
◦ iPhone/iPod Touch
 Tweetie
 HootSuite
◦ Android
◦ BlackBerry
◦ Windows Phone

26. Using Twitter in
the Job Search

27. How Companies Use Twitter to Find
Candidates
 Many big companies list job openings on
Twitter
 Cheaper and less-crowded alternative to
job boards
 Allows them to
◦ target social media-savvy job hunters
◦ convey an innovative image

28. How Candidates Use Twitter to Find
Fobs
 Follow feeds that aggregate jobs from
multiple companies
 Use Twitter search to research prospective
employers
 Locate/connect with individuals who work
at targeted companies
 Interact directly with companies' recruiters
 More convenient than job boards

29. Maximizing Twitter for the Job
Search
 Connect your Twitter feed to LinkedIn
 Follow people in your field to be
connected and informed on industry
news and trends
 Create your follower list by posting
regular updates on topics of interest
 Build your network by following relevant
groups, associations and professional lists

30. Twitter – LinkedIn Integration
 Twitter to LinkedIn
◦ Add your Twitter account to LinkedIn
◦ Designate which tweets are displayed as your
LinkedIn status

31. Twitter – LinkedIn Integration
 Twitter to LinkedIn
◦ Use #in or #li hashtag
◦ Add to any part of a tweet
◦ Use at anytime; will override existing settings

32. Twitter – LinkedIn Integration
 LinkedIn to Twitter
◦ Check the box next to the Twitter icon on
the LinkedIn home page
◦ Updates will be posted to Twitter

33. Maximizing Twitter for the Job
Search
 Use tools such as JobDeck
◦ Allows job seekers to search specific topics
relative to an industry
 Create a Twitter list
◦ Add companies you’re interested in working for
 Utilize Tweetafile.com
◦ Share/send your resume when requested
 Spend a minimum of15 minutes daily
◦ posting tweets
◦ reviewing comments by others in your field

34. Desktop Third-Party Tools
JobDeck

35. Use TweetDeck as a Dashboard

36. Job-Related Twitter Feeds
 CareerDFWJobs
 Pulled from
CareerDFW.com
 Actions
◦ Subscribe
◦ Share via RT
◦ Share some more

37. Job-Related Twitter Feed Resources
 101 Best Twitter Feeds for Job Hunters
◦ http://greengigs.blogspot.com/2009/02/101-best-twitter-feeds-
for-job-hunters.html
 100 Useful Twitter Tools and Feeds for Your Job
Search
◦ http://www.jobprofiles.org/library/job-search/100-useful-
twitter.htm
 101 Twitter Feeds to Help You Land a Job
◦ http://www.jobprofiles.org/library/job-
search/100_twitter_feeds_for_job_search.htm

39. RSS
It’s Not Just for News Anymore

40. What is RSS?
 Really Simple Syndication
 User-initiated subscriptions that provide
updates, news headlines, or other content
directly to the user for browsing at their
convenience
 Pull vs. push

41. Benefits of RSS
 Receive updates without visiting each web site
 Can quickly monitor large number of sites
 Short summaries or ―table of contents‖
 Alternative to email notifications
◦ Lessen e-mail overload
◦ No rejection of messages by email filters
◦ Reduce spam building opportunities

42. Uses of RSS
 News and announcements
 Blog postings and comments
 Photos
 Podcasts / music
 Auction items
 TV and movie listings
 Search results
 Tweets
 Job postings
 Many more

43. Access RSS
 RSS Readers download/display feeds
◦ Desktop application
 FeedDemon
◦ Browser-based application
 Sage (Firefox add-in)
◦ Web-hosted service
 Google Reader
 Feedly
 Netvibes
◦ Mobile

44. Desktop RSS Reader – FeedDemon

45. Browser application RSS Reader –
(Firefox/Sage)

46. Hosted RSS Reader – Google Reader

47. Hosted RSS Reader – feedly

48. RSS Mobile
 Applications available for
◦ iPhone/iPod Touch
 Reeder
 iNews
 Pro RSS
◦ Android
◦ BlackBerry
◦ Windows Phone

49. Using Google Reader
 Monitoring Your Brand With
Google Reader
◦ http://www.slideshare.net/davidswinney/monitoring
-your-personal-brand-using-google-reader

50. Using RSS in the
Job Search

51. RSS in the Job Search - Indeed

52. RSS in the Job Search -
CareerBuilder

53. RSS in the Job Search -
TwitJobSearch

54. RSS in the Job Search -
TwitJobSearch

55. RSS in the Job Search –
LinkedIn Network Updates

56. RSS in the Job Search –
LinkedIn Network Updates

57. RSS in the Job Search –
LinkedIn Answers

58. RSS in the Job Search –
LinkedIn Answers

59. RSS in the Job Search -
CareerDFWJobs

60. RSS in the Job Search -
CareerDFWJobs

61. RSS in the Job Search -
CareerDFWJobs

62. Job-Related RSS Feed Resources
 How to Use RSS in Your Job Search
◦ http://www.timeatlas.com/web_sites/general/how_to_use_rss
_in_your_job_search
 Find a Job Using RSS Feeds & Google Reader
◦ http://www.watchingthenet.com/search-for-jobs-with-google-
reader-and-rss-feeds.html
 Screencast: How to create a RSS feed from an
Indeed.com job search
◦ http://www.timeatlas.com/tutorials/indeed.htm

64. Thank You
David Swinney
Social Media Specialist
david.swinney@gmail.com
http://twitter.com/davidswinney
http://linkedin.com/in/davidswinney
http://davidswinney.posterous.com
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