Jacob Share at JobMob shares some tips on using Twitter to organize job feeds.  This is a neat way to get job postings.  You can also follow funnelthru on twitterto get our feeds!

• Create an account on Twitter unless you have one already.
• Download and install a Twitter reader like TweetDeck or Seesmic Desktop. Tweetdeck uses Groups and Seesmic Desktop has Userlists which allow you to organize Twitter users for easier following. Use this categorization feature to separate the Twitter job feeds from the other Twitter users you follow so that all your Twitter job search information is kept in one convenient place that isn’t overwhelmed by other tweets.
• If you know where you’d like to work, click the corresponding country flag [on his global directory] to jump down to a local Twitter job feed list and then begin following local feeds in your industry. Then scan the International section which lists Twitter job feeds that include job openings from 3 countries or more. Or you can jump directly to it by clicking the globe icon at the end of the row of flags.
• If you have a chosen industry and are open to moving for jobs, type CTRL+F in your browser to search this article for keywords related to your profession like ‘design’, ‘accounting’, ‘developer’, etc., and then follow the Twitter job feeds that are most relevant among the results, regardless of country.

Found via Cheezhead

Is Twitter the future of recruiting?  With this job market who the hell cares - take every possible opportunity to land yourself a job.  Susan Joyce from job-hunt.org shares a list of employers recruiting on Twitter:

This list is almost as interesting for who’s NOT on it at this point.  We have Burger King, but not McDonald’s.  We have PepsiCo, but only in the UK, and Coca-Cola not at all.  We have Microsoft (sort of) but not Oracle, Sybase, Adobe, etc.  We have IBM but not Dell or HP.  We have two accounts from MTV and one for Warner Brothers but nothing for Disney, Pixar, or any of the other studios.  Intel and EMC are the only manufacturers that made the list.

None of the big pharmaceutical companies are on this list either because I couldn’t find any of them, and, even though Best Buy has thousands of jobs posted on its Website (here), they are using Twitter only for marketing, so far.  No other large retailer showed up, either.

You’ll find the U.S. Department of State is the only branch of the U.S. Federal Government or ANY U.S.A. government entity, that is recruiting on Twitter.  I very recently discovered that the city of Kingston, Ontario, Canada, also recruits using Twitter.  Interesting…

Researching this list reminded me of slogging through the Fortune 500 ten years ago, looking for the large employers that were smart enough to (1) have a corporate Website with “current” content and (2) use their corporate Website for recruiting (and not hiding the job listings).  If I remember correctly, in 1999, only about 10% of them did that.  Closer to 95% do it now.  Wonder how long it will take the majority of them to adapt to Twitter for recruiting…

I’m not really convinced that Twitter is such a great recruiting tool.  Early on, when there were fewer users and less spam it was a very honest and direct way to engage with employers.  It seems that as more people join and more “How To Make Mad $$% With Twitter” instructional books come out Twitter might lose value as a recruitment tool.  We still believe that for entry level jobs a job board is one of the top tools to use. As long as all the positions listed are authentic, and are truly entry-level, applicants have complete freedom and flexibility and employers get applications in an organized way.

Chris Havrilla (@havrilla) at Hitachi Consulting shares how she uses social media when searching for candidates.  She talks directly to people who are only using advertised/posted positions:

It is important to note, that finding the right person (or job) may not always happen when there is a posted, open position.  It is a safe bet that there are many potential jobs that go “unadvertised”.  And that number likely grows during times like these as many companies are experiencing budget cuts and may not widely market their jobs.

She also says that these tools are great for research - either before you apply or after to try and network:

If they have a position for which you are sincerely interested and qualified, apply and then use these tools to network your way to an interview.

Chris also goes into details about how she uses LinkedIn, facebook and twitter:

1. LinkedIn - I have found the tool works best for me to facilitate more meaningful contacts with this broader network.  While it may limit the people in my “network” that I can search or view within LinkedIn, I can always use Google to search the public version of LinkedIn profiles.  This gives me access to almost anyone on LinkedIn at any time.
2. Facebook - “I use this tool to establish closer, more meaningful connections with my inner most network.  These are the people you most want to keep up to date with and on – personally and professionally.  Many people are still cautious of using this professionally so, from a direct networking standpoint, it is best to use it for the people you know best.  You can join Groups as a means for more open networking and engaging of others you may not know — and they may be more open to receive.  Lastly, search for target companies and become a “Fan”.  Many companies have created Facebook pages to provide information for or engage with candidates, customers, etc.”
3. Twitter - Give it time – start following some people, watch, lurk, get a feel for it.  Once you have a good group of people you follow that interest you – reply to a few questions or comments – start a dialogue.  “Retweet” things you find interesting, appealing, or valuable.  Then eventually you’ll feel comfortable “tweeting” your own ideas, links, content, etc.

Lindsay Olson shares some data she found on Hubspot and their State of the Twittersphere report.
The report looked at twitter account with Twitter Grader and found that:

• 79.79% failed to provide a homepage URL
• 75.86% of users have not entered a bio in their profile
• 68.68% have not specified a location
• 55.50% are not following anyone
• 54.88% have never tweeted
• 52.71% have no followers

I’m surprised that 75% of users haven’t entered a bio and almost 70% haven’t entered their location.

Seriously.  The low hanging fruit here is definitely bio and location.  It’s super simple to enter and allows people to search for you FAR more easily.  The next step after that is to start following some people. ExecTweets.com is a great place to start and allows you to have every thought of major business leaders beamed to your twitter account.  You can respond and maybe, just maybe, get noticed.  That deals with 3 of the top 4 issues on the list.  As for url link I would get myself a facebook vanity name (if you haven’t done so already) and link it up.  Just make sure your facebook account is “employer friendly”.

EmployeeScreenIQ recently released a list of 10 top background screening trends for 2010.  A few of these stand out for entry level candidates.  The first, and probably most obvious one for college grads, is the use of social networking:

Greater hiring controversies due to social networking. Social networking has exploded in popularity and changed America’s culture. A recent CareerBuilder study found one in five employers used social networks such as Twitter and Facebook to influence hiring decisions. However, many sites have no verification process and several can be edited by anyone with access to the Internet. Sites such as YouTube and MySpace have few content requirements, and nearly all sites allow users to make up a profile in someone else’s name. At risk are FCRA (Fair Credit Reporting Act) regulations and EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission) guidelines.

With tough economic times there comes increased competition for the remaining jobs. EmployeeScreenIQ sees a rise in resume falsification as well:

As job seekers become more desperate to regain employment, resume falsification and diploma mills will increase in use. As the recession triggers an increase in overall crime, employers will see sharp increases in false information from job applicants as well as applicants with criminal records. EmployeeScreenIQ’s newest verification study finds that approximately 50 percent of resumes have some kind of inconsistency. The study also found that approximately 17 percent of background checks conducted by the company identify some kind of criminal activity.

The key is to remain honest.  Although EmployeeScreenIQ thinks less companies will be able to run complete background checks due to budget cuts, but false information always has a way of getting out.  Lying doesn’t help anything.  Also covered at the site is use of credit reports and discrimination.

Originally posted on Cheezhead