I’m so pleased to give the floor to my friend, Hannah DeMilta, today.  Hannah is a shining example of the other side of Generation Y.

She’s sharp, passionate, focused on having experiences and building networks, and a Jedi Master in the art of wielding social media tools to drive her professional career.  Shortly after graduating from Otterbein College, Hannah put all of those skills and traits to work in making her dream of living and working abroad in the social media industry a reality.

Here’s Hannah with how she did it…

I found my current job on Twitter.

I think while it’s becoming more common for people to say that, it still surprises most. It surprises people even more when I tell them I found my job on Twitter, and it moved me all the way from my hometown of Cleveland to Australia. I recently started a new role as a Social Media Specialist at Switched On Media, a digital agency in Sydney. It was my dream to move here ever since spending a semester abroad in Australia.

I wanted to share some advice and tips on how I used Twitter as one of the tools in my job hunt. Although I used this for my job search abroad, the same tips apply for someone looking to move domestically or wanting to find a position in their home city.

1. Run searches (location based) for job opening keywords people would be tweeting about. Look for words like “hiring” or “entry–level.” If it’s a large region or city, add in terms specific to the role you want such as “hiring” AND “marketing.” Also, look for Twitter accounts that share automated RSS feeds of job openings, but remember it’s always better to look for actual people tweeting. It’s going to be a person that hires you, not a computer.
2. The next step is to follow anyone who is tweeting about these job openings. Even if you’re not planning on applying for that particular job, still follow them. Build your network and look for local connectors who might help you later. Don’t worry if they don’t follow you back right away. That’s not the most important part. The idea is to keep an eye on them. Over time, look for ways to engage and interact. Don’t force it. Let the relationship naturally develop if you can.
3. Take time to do some research on the companies where you want to work. Find out if they are active on social media. Find out if they have a Twitter account and follow them.  Next, look for the names of people who work for that company and try to find them on Twitter. You might try looking at the company’s Twitter account to see if they already have a list of all their employees with accounts.
4. Create public and private Twitter lists. If you are conducting your job search in multiple cities or locations, it might help you to create private lists to keep track of new people. You could also list people by company or industry but don’t necessarily want them to know how you are classifying them. More people should also take advantage of creating public lists. It’s a way to get others to notice you. If you place someone on a list, there is a better chance of them noticing and revisiting your profile/bio (especially if they didn’t the first time around). Don’t worry about long titles. Keep the lists general. I have one called “Sydney Digitals.” I created it during my job search and continue to add local contacts.
5. Don’t get on Twitter to find a job. Huh? What? I thought was the point of this post… Let me explain. Get on Twitter to find people, make connections and network globally. That’s how you’re going to find a job. Use Twitter to become a better listener and find information in real time. This will help you be successful in your job hunt. If you’re signing up for a Twitter account hoping to magically get hired just for showing up, you are quite mistaken.

Good luck with the search friends! Please introduce yourself on Twitter if we haven’t met @HannahDeMilta.

Have you found a job on Twitter or hired someone you found on Twitter? Please share your story.

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