The other day I was on Twitter. I am active on Twitter. Right now, it is my favorite social site. Why? I am a little quirky, and I am pretty good with words. I love sarcasm and creativity. It is hard to say what you want to say in 140 characters or less, so if you can do it, I admire you. I love friendly banter and I am impressed with the unconventional.
Your favorite site may not be Twitter. It may be Facebook. Why? You may love sharing pictures and the way it is set up. My wife is a Pintrest fan. She loves to cook and loves seeing pictures of foods. She gets great ideas from pictures. Recently she planned a Batman birthday for our 3 year old simply by looking at pictures on Pinterest.
Smart. Really smart.
As a candidate, you have to recognize what recruiters are doing and saying. I had Matt Arch send me a note on Twitter the other day that blew me away. Why did he intrigue me? He first went to LinkedIn and researched my profile. He found that I was in Austin and I recruited Sales and Marketing individuals. He then found my twitter handle on Linkedin. Once he found my twitter handle, he sent me a note saying he was looking to relocate to Austin and sent me a hyperlink to his resume
Smart. Really smart.
I always have a tab open on my computer on Twitter. In addition, whenever I receive a tweet, I get a ding on my phone and the word “message” shows up on my phone. You can probably get in touch with me quicker by tweeting me than leaving me a voice mail.
We exchanged tweets and I learned a great deal about him. He was a college student in Pittsburgh. You know what was cool about this? He instantly separated himself from the pack for doing something different.
The story doesn’t end there.
For those of you reading this know, I write. I write a lot. He knew that also. He knew that by researching me on Linkedin and reading my tweets. He had a guest blogger on his blog site and had had sent me a radio blog which you can listen here . This blog was creative. It explained the frustrations, fears, and excitement of graduating from college. How clever. This took time.
So, let’s recap. He did research to find me. He creatively grabbed my attention with a tweet. He used technology to send me a resume. He even blogged about job searching. Not everyone does this.
When you are looking for a job, think outside the box. Do some impressing. Do something different. Do something that will stand out.
Matt Arch will land a job fast! Follow his lead. Not many are doing what he is doing, and if you are looking to differentiate yourself, take this as a great lesson.
It impressed me! Maybe you should send me a tweet too?!
Will,
Thanks for sharing how we met in this virtual world of social media. I will keep you posted on where life takes me post-Master’s. It is an exciting time in which I am enjoying the ride. People like you make it fun. I subscribed to get updates as they come. I would also like to link your site to mine, if possible. Let me know.
Matt- absolutely. It is a fun ride. Good luck with your search and hopefully someone can meet you! Will
I’m glad not everyone goes to those lengths…
That being said, I wish more candidates did!
All the best to you Matt!
-M
Nice post Will,
Staying in India, I have observed that hardly people use this method. But it’s sure a great way to impress upon…
Thank you Anirudh,
It is the unconventional that impresses me.
Will
Unfortunately recruiters & companies overlook talented graduates every day. Having on-the-job experience is basically your only shot. I am working on my 3rd degree and it might as well be zero. I like the idea that people who use “unconventional” methods to gain exposure are more likely to get their feet wet.
Hey Brian- you know a degree is a foot in the door. I got my 2nd degree mainly for me. I do feel like I learned quite a bit and I became a pretty good writer because I went back to school :)… Keep up the unconventional. It is impressive. I just read a cover letter today that was awesome. I would have otherwise never considered the candidate. It really separated him from the pack- so whatever you have to do! Thanks for responding! Will
Thank you, Will! Your article confirmes well what I already started to understand in my search process! However even after I personally approached few recruiters so that they certainly remember and most likely differentiate me – still after few months they do not have any close-matching vacancy for me 🙂 So I like your recommendations and agree with them but how much indeed would they increase somebody’s chances? To be considered among the first ones if there is a stream of matching vacancies? And if there is none?
In any case I really enjoyed reading this article as well as the one about Cover Letter that is NOT DEAD. Thanks again!