TwitJobSearch

I realize that TwitJobSearch has been available since 2009, but results from their searches just finally appeared in my automated Twitter job search. So, yes, there are library jobs on this service and they include the obvious library job posters, such as  ALA Job List and LibGig. But they also get the infrequent tweeters, such as the small library or special library that infrequently posts or reposts jobs. Their dashboard also includes some interesting features that I think will help job seekers that are using Twitter:

• Email or RSS alerts for search strings
• A "featured accounts" setting, which either means they post lots of jobs that match your search terms, or they paid to be featured in relation to the keywords in your search. 
• You can click on a button to allow the employer to Skype you, or send a DM suggesting that you can take on the job. Now this is cool if you know the employer or industry wants to fill positions right now, such as PR, writing, programming, but it might make a library HR person pee their pants thinking that they are being cyberstalked.(And I am not kidding about this reaction: do you know how many library HR people I have heard get huffy about a job candidate that dares to call them to ask a question about a job posting--too many. Only for my sick amusement would I Skype them.) But this is an excellent tool if you are looking for a gig as a writer, book reviewer, community manager, or coding.
• And filters...which would be leave this Twitter search engine covered with awesome sauce, if they worked.

For example, a search for librarian includes the filters for "Engineer" or an "RN" and not as an employer or the name of the company, but for positions as engineer and a registered nurse. One content manager position came up, since you work as a "topic librarian". This was not in the job title, which the filter was supposed to search on. So the filters don't seem to do any filtering--and you need to get relevant jobs, before the successful filters of part-time/full-time or manager to work their magic.

The skills filter was also a little weird: what's a "COM", or a "PDF"? (No, there was no Adobe in that job posting.) It could be a translation issue, or it is possible there is a "collection management" hash tag that I don't know anything about--I guess a trip to Hashtags.org is in order.

Twitjobsearch does not tame the Twitter noise for job search, however, considering the alerts features and the assistance on finding good Twitter job sources, this vertical search engine will probably help people build up their personal Twitter for jobs list.

Basic French Reference and Information Services Librarian

This job popped up in my TweetDeck search for librarian and jobs.

Basic French Reference and Information Services Librarian

• LN3 Librarian 3
• Term/full-time
• Renegotiated yearly

Manitoba Education, Bureau de l'éducation française Division
Winnipeg MB

Advertisement Number: 22898

Salary(s):  LN3 $49,287.00 - $60,427.00

Closing Date: September 6, 2010


An eligibility list may be created for similar positions and will remain in effect for 12 months.


The successful candidate will be working within the Direction des ressources éducatives françaises branch located in Collège St. Boniface , 200 avenue de la Cathédrale, under the supervision of the Director.

Qualifications:


The successful candidate will have excellent oral and written communication skills in French and in English. The incumbent will hold a valid teaching certificate. Experience teaching French as a second language is desirable. Experience in the use of information and communication technologies (word processing, electronic mail, automated library system) is essential. The successful candidate must possess school library experience which includes answering information requests, selecting new resources, organizing book displays, meeting and speaking to groups of students/teachers regarding their search for information, and promoting resources/services. The ability to support other personnel  in the delivery of workshops is desirable.  Ability to work both as a  team member and independently is essential. Excellent organizational skills are essential.

Duties:
The incumbent will be responsible for:

• answering information requests;
• performing circulation functions and other related services for the clients;
• researching appropriate new resources;
• promoting resources and services;
• supporting other personnel (i.e. in the delivery of workshops);
• provide consultation related to services and resources.

Apply to:
Advertisement #22898

Jason Alba on Twitter

Jason Alba, creator of JibberJobber, also the writer for the JibberJobber blog, has a good post on using Twitter effectively. I agree: people are busy, they don't like technology, and there isn't a great deal of evidence yet that all of the effort put into job seeking on Twitter can actually lead to a job.

For librarians, using Twitter for information sharing makes sense. If you just happen to get a job out of it, double bonus points.

Use TweetDeck to update Twitter Job Searches

I'm still skeptical about using Twitter to find work, mainly because I have not met anyone personally who has found work via Twitter. But I did configure a search on TweetDeck (which I think makes plain Twitter functional) that may be helpful for those determined to prove me wrong.

Basically, TweetDeck is an app for Twitter that helps you manage your tweets. You can also run searches on Twitter, via TweetDeck and get pop-up updates if your search terms appear in Twitter. (These pop-ups are slightly annoying, but if you are Twitter-obsessed, perhaps you love their cheerful appearance.) Anyway, once you are signed in to TweetDeck or have downloaded it onto your desktop or iPhone, you can stay updated on your Twitter feed and get refreshed searches.

You can just type in your keywords/search terms, you don't need the hashtags because the search will send you posts where the search terms appeared, whether they have hashtags or. Since supplying a hashtag is voluntary on the part of the tweeters, this means you will get posts both with and without hashtags. (This, of course, can be good and bad, but if you are determined to use Twitter, you are determined to try anything.)

I would recommend running a Boolean AND, of the keyword for the profession you are looking for AND jobs, so you don't get the librarian saved my life tweets, or something about weird fantasies from people hanging out in the reference section (amazing what glasses and some smarts do to some people's libidos).

You can run several different searches, four displays nicely, but just remember that you will need to scroll sideways to view them all.

Now let's see if running searches on Twitter can actually lead to a real person, who will post a real comment that they found a real job--not just a posting or an interview, the full meal deal--through Twitter. I would prefer to hear from librarians and their successes, but I'll take anyone who can prove that Twitter got them employed.

Twitter mistakes

HR Guru has an article on Twitter mistakes, and I hope you aren't making any of them, but you might want to mention them in some of your how-to-job-search classes.

I would also add that you don't add any identifying hash tags, like the name of your workplace, or where you live, should limit your exposure. Tweeting under your full name will also get you outed pretty quickly, though I could argue that searching for people and finding the correct one is not as easy as some people seem to think.

Articles like these, including the ones about not doing stupid stuff on MySpace and Facebook, or any other online service, have to do with discretion. Some people are just not discreet, or they are convinced that no one will ever know--and the lack of knowledge about social media, and the Internet in general, may give them a sense of security. The people you don't want to know about your online rants aren't going to find out about them unless

• someone in-house tattles on you--which they should, in cases of threats of violence, or indiscreet revelations of company secrets or intellectual property
• you friend/follow your boss and then say stupid stuff online
• they get a clue about the Internet. 

For librarians, you can also add, revealing personal information about clients/patrons that approach us in confidence.

Maybe discretion and conduct should be added to a professional behavior course? They are topics to be addressed, if only briefly, in a course on online job searching.

discretion

Who's on Twitter?

Susan Strayer, the author of The Right Job, Right Now, is keeping a list of the companies that are posting jobs to Twitter. Handy.

Stalked off

Now, I know the article [Stalk your way to a new job] was tongue-in-cheek, but I don't recommend stalking individual people at an organization--you should follow news stories and items about an organization. If the people that work there happen to publish and you might end up working in their department, you should read their publicly available work. But staking out their Facebook page?

According to the article,

Within minutes, you can find out where he’s from, how to reach him, where he’s worked in the past, and – perhaps most importantly – what his favorite movie is. The more you know about him, the better your ability to sell yourself.

Not so fast. This depends on a few factors.

1. The person is online and is accessible. This mean that they keep their blog or their Facebook profile out in the public sphere on their own name. Lots of people don't.
2. Even if you think you have the right person, how do you know that you do? Plenty of celebrities have people who name-jack them (would that be Twitter jack?) but I know quite a few people who have misspelled potential colleagues names.
3. For librarians, many of us know where the privacy settings are. And we teach others where to find them.

A far more helpful post would have been how to find out information about a company and their prospects, especially for privately-owned or small firms not listed on the 500 that Fortune slavers over each year.

Letterman and Spacey talk Twitter

It's a Boomer confab over Twitter, but Letterman does have a point: how many people think Twitter is a waste of time?

Twitter skillz

So, I might not be convinced that you can twitter for work--depending on your industry--but it appears that if you have some Twitter skillz, you can find a job. SimplyHired just announced a twitter job trend graph that shows the increase in postings that add Twitter to the description--as a Twitter programmer for example, or as a social media expert with experience using Twitter.

TweetMyJobs

TweetMyJobs is a Twitter-based job posting and resume uploading service. Employers can post jobs to the appropriate channel--geographic or industry-based--and job seekers can twitterize their resumes, making them accessible to service using employers. You can refer to their why choose us page to decide if they have enough postings in the industry you are trying to find work or workers in.

There is a fee for employers to post, very small, like .99 for a one-day posting, but does this mean the job is no longer searchable in Twitter stream after the day has passed, or that they tweet 3 days in a row?

TweetMyJobs might be something to try if they have postings in your target sector, they have postings in your area, and you are willing to get tweets on your cell phone.

Recommendations for who to follow on Twitter for a job

This post comes from a roundabout curve, from a post on College Recuiter, to the post from Amanda Hoffstrom, about tweeting for a job with recommendations on who to follow on Twitter who tweets about job searching. If you want to use Twitter to look for work, this may be a place to start.