Entry by Pat Patterson
If you are not already on Twitter, then you are missing out on a huge, free opportunity to market yourself. Twitter, at its core, is a marketing tool. Companies use Twitter to market their goods and services; it only makes sense for you, as an internship/job seeker, to use Twitter to market your skills.
Since you do not include as much personal and professional information in your Twitter account, it is easier to create a professional Twitter profile. Here is a recap of the tips to build a professional Twitter profile, which I included in the July INTERNnetwork and last Fridayâs blog:
- Use your real name,
- use a head shot photo as your profile picture,
- create a Twitter name that is appropriate and easy to remember,
- list a website for yourself â a professional profile such as LinkedIn, an online resume, an online portfolio, or your blog,
- customize your profile with a clean, professional design, and
- âtweetâ about your interests, internship/career search process, articles related to your industries of interests, opinion on current events in your industries of interest, etc.
Today, I have included an example of how you can use Twitter for your internship and/or job search by creating a list(s). You can create lists from your Twitter account to follow specific, related Twitter accounts. For example, you can create a list labeled âInternshipsâ and include internship related accounts on the list to follow such as Indiana INTERNnetâs Twitter @IndianINTERN â when you click on your list, your Twitter ânews feedâ will only show âtweetsâ from those included on the list.
Check out the example of a list I created through my own Twitter account. In the list labeled âCareers,â I follow Twitter accounts that âtweetâ about internship and job search advice and Twitter accounts that âtweetâ about available job opportunities.
If you do not have a Twitter account, then I would recommend starting one today â you will be surprised with how much you can learn through Twitter.
