Use Twitter Effectively to Build Your Career

by Sharon Graham. Filed under: $100k+ Job Seekers, Career Practitioners, Ethics and Integrity.
vaso link

Sporting a moniker of Canada’s Career Strategist, you have to know that I take twittercomicmy responsibility seriously. So, I thrive on developing meaningful relationships with like-minded professionals — the kind of professionals who understand the value of sharing their expertise. These are the people I follow.

Lately, I have been following my tweeps and monitoring them more closely. I have made a personal revelation, which I would like to share.

It is clear that many followers, including myself, don’t appreciate threads that go on about someone’s daily activity. Around the globe, twitter-lovers and twitter-haters alike have thought at least once, “Why would I care if you are making supper now?” or “Who cares if you are taking a break?”

Personally, I have now started to find some of the more insidious Tweets (and Tweeters) invasive and even offensive. In short, I am growing a major aversion to seeing posts like these:

  • Busy running around as usual.
  • Glad it’s Friday!
  • Busy looking for a job.
  • Currently working on a client resume.
  • It’s raining outside so I’m working.
  • Just wrote another resume.
  • Coached an executive client.
  • Looking for business.
  • Connected with an industry expert.
  • Finished up a client call.

Sometimes, I wonder if the person tweeting has some sort of Napoleon complex. Do they really think that it’s all about them? Do they get that others don’t care about what they are doing right now? Are they THAT self-absorbed?

People who insist on sharing every mundane detail of their life are virtually assured that busy, business professionals will not follow them. Even if these individuals are telling followers important information from time-to-time, all the extra lines of fluff are taking away from their message.

Meaningful twitterers can offer a wealth of information. They can become seen as subject matter experts. People want to read every single tweet.

Everyone loves to receive a tweet that is meant to help us, deepen a relationship, empower someone, support a colleague, or lift our spirits.

If you want to achieve tweetsperity, tweet with a generous, sharing heart. Give much more than you want to receive. If you genuinely care about your followers and their needs, you’ll find that you’ll grow your contact base, gain friendships, achieve your career goals, and attain immeasurable rewards.

CLICK HERE to learn more about your career development.

Thank you for reading my blog! Please email me if you spot any errors in this post.

»

2 Responses to Use Twitter Effectively to Build Your Career

  1. Janet Barclay
    May 17th, 2009 at 6:19 am

    I don’t mind the odd personal tidbit, but I’ve stopped following people who have nothing of value to say, or who just tweet too often.

    There’s a tool which measures, among other things, your “Signal-to-Noise” ratio, where “signal” is useful information and “noise” is what you had for lunch, for example. You can check it out at http://www.twitalyzer.com.

  2. David J. Gardner
    May 18th, 2009 at 2:59 pm

    I appreciate so much when a pro like Sharon continues to investigate and participate in new media for assisting her clients! Many do not, and rest on the laurels of their past credentials…awesome!

    I believe the jury’s out as to the long term value of Twitter as a career and networking tool, but it’s certainly very valuable to learn about!

    Finally, Sharon hit the nail on the head…give more than you expect to receive! In business as in life, it pays off in dividends!!

    Thanks Sharon,
    David.

Leave a Reply