Traditionally, CVs are two sides of A4 and detail the important aspects of your professional life and some of your personal life. You post them, email them and hand them out to employers in the hope that the information on the pages will inspire them to hire you. Now, with social media booming and social networking sites taking over the internet, it seems only logical that the next step in job hunting occurs on these platforms.
Sites like LinkedIn offer the space to create an online CV and profile; Reed and Monster allow you to upload your CV so it is accessible to anyone who wants it. The next stage is promoting yourself on Twitter, the big daddy of social media.
'Twitter resumes' have taken off in America and are discussed here, but The Graduate Recruitment Bureau bring you all you need to know about creating the perfect tweet to attract employers.
An easy tweet template for an eye catching message is as follows:~
[Name] [current position] [seeks a position (abbreviated)] [link to online cv/profile/work] [hashtags] [specific company (optional)]
For example, when I was looking for the job I currently do I could have tweeted this, following the template:
@annaepitts. Linguistics student, Sussex uni. Seeks Marketing role. http://www.linkedin.com/in/annapitts #CV #marketingjobs @thegrbteam
(Bear in mind having the @tag at the start means your followers won't see (maybe your current employer!) it but it could still reach a wide audience from anyone else you tag and the hash tags.)
Here, I've put my twitter ID first so companies can instantly contact me and then explained my current job status (non-existent) and the job I hope to have (a marketing role). Next, a link to my LinkedIn profile allows anyone who is interested to easily find more information about me and my experience to see if they would want to take it further. The information is easily accessible to them as they just have to click the link. Finish off with targeted hashtags that will get your tweet in the relevant discussions and searches. Good examples are #CV as anyone looking for CVs will see it and a hashtag relevant to the field you are interested in, in this case #marketingjobs. The final part of the tweet is optional. If you are applying to an existing vacancy at a particular company or want to work for a specific company you could personalise the tweet to them by tagging them in it. In this case I've tagged @thegrbteam as I was applying to one of their positions. To broaden your possibilities don't tag a specific company as this shows you are interested in many opportunities.
Another example, if you already have a good job and are looking to develop your career could look something like this:
@annaepitts. Sous chef. Seeks head chef role. Link to online profile. #cv #hautecuisine #chefjobs @specificrestaurant
The link in this case could be to your LinkedIn, your current restaurant's website which features praise for your food, or perhaps a blog where you showcase your work. Again, if you have a specific restaurant you want to work for then tag them. The hashtags will change depending on the roles you are applying for, so make sure you tailor them to the right industry.
Graduates should make use of the twitter CV in particular as their job search will likely be extensive and time consuming. Twitter is a great way to get your message and information to the right people quickly and a useful tactic to employ alongside the more intense methods, like trawling of job sites. For example:
@annaepitts. Maths grad, Leicester uni, 2.1. Seeks financial admin role at top company. #cv #maths #financejobs
For these tweets include as much information about your degree as possible - title, university and the grade if you think this will boost your chances of getting noticed. Again, be strategic with your hashtags and abbreviate terms if needed to keep within the 140 character limit.
#goodluck!
