experience matters

Alan Dodaro | Critical Mass Chicago

It turns out all of that idle time spent on Twitter could actually pay off. In my case, it did with a brand-new job. The Great Recession changed how people think about jobs while creating new ways for people to be heard and stand out. I spent months looking for new opportunities the old-fashioned way trolling through job posts and making weekly sweeps through career sites without any luck.

On Twitter, I followed a few agencies including Critical Mass and noticed several companies tweeting about new opportunities within their organizations. This made me rethink my job search strategy with Twitter. Here’s what I did to land my sweet new job:

Research

I knew I wanted to go beyond the traditional agency setting and explore a more interactive workplace. Aside from a few staple companies, I didn’t know who the main Chicago players were in this industry. I began following the trades and blogs diligently to see who was making headlines. Once I had a few companies in mind, I began following them and their key players, learning more about each company as information was pushed to my twitter feed as soon as it was released.

Extreme Makeover: Your digital image edition

Social media allows for very personal interactions and it leaves a lot to be desired when you update about your mystery rash, blackout bar nights (to be fair, everyone gets one drunk tweet) or starring role on the next episode of Hoarders. Save the sick stuff for Facebook where it belongs (kidding) and focus on creating dialogue. Tweet about work, websites and industry happenings you think is cool (and why). Retweet anything insightful and provide your own commentary. You’ll get your fair share of followers that will boost your twitter credibility too.

Change your avatar to a photo of yourself. Make your face clearly visible and be the only person in the shot. It doesn’t have to be dry and corporate but keep it to something you’d feel comfortable having your grandma show to her friends. A real photo helps connect you to your online identity, and will help people pick you out at networking events and at (fingers crossed!) your interview.

Finally, include a bio. After indicating I was in the advertising/marketing industry, some of the agencies I followed began following me back even while it was very obvious I was in a very junior position. Keep your bio short and sweet highlighting relevant information showcasing your interests.

Twit Lists

The typical twitter feed can be an overwhelming free association of thoughts from friends, celebrity train wrecks, industry leaders news posts. My problem was that I wasn’t monitoring my timeline 24/7 meaning important posts could be pushed out of my feed if my timing wasn’t perfect. Twitter has a feature that allows you to group specific people/companies into specific lists separate from your main timeline. Even more helpful, you do not need to be following a person to have them on your list, provided their updates are public. I set up a list to follow agencies and companies without the noise and distraction of everything else. This helped organize my hunt.

Your Big Move

Lucky for me, Critical Mass was the first company that posted an opportunity I was really interested in—my current gig. I tweeted back to them about my interest and had a job description emailed to me a few minutes later. I replied back with my resume and thus began the interview process, totally circumventing the “apply online and we’ll email you so don’t email us” process traditionally found at so many other companies.

Keep your response casual but respectful. While social media skips past the formality of cover letters your response should be in English (read: no SMS shorthand) and demonstrate that you are a clear communicator in any channel.

Bonus Points: Stalk Scope Out the Competition

Although Twitter is the medium of one-on-one interaction, I knew other people must be applying to this job along with me. I used the site’s search feature and typed “Critical Mass” to see what people had to say. I learned that there are a lot of avid Critical Mass cyclists tweeting, and many of my results were about the non-profit biking events, not the job I just applied to. I re-ran my search for “@criticalmass” to only show results of people mentioning our agency. The result? I found four other people also applying to the very same position I just did. I now knew I might be up against two MBAs, a “seasoned” professional and an art student.

It’s not necessary but searching could give you insights into the other applicants—How many there are, their backgrounds and what companies/schools they’re coming from. And don’t let your competition discourage you. When I saw the two MBAs I thought I was out of my league but it turned out both of them were far too senior for the available role. One more note: Don’t think you’re the only one scoping out and sizing up—more than likely the person you’re creeping on will be creeping on you. Isn’t the internet a beautiful thing?

Twitter is great because it gives you an interesting opportunity to be singled out in a sea of digital noise. But where should you start? Why not follow us here at @CriticalMass and if you’re in Chicago, check out and follow me & my list of agencies to get your search underway. The web offers so much potential for new and ingenious ways to get noticed by the big players in our industry. So start tweeting.

Alan is the business development/marketing coordinator intern from our Chicago office. (@aland)