In the past 3 years, every job interview I have had has been one that I’ve either known the person through Twitter, or I had at least found the job opening through Twitter. The power, reach and possibilities that being able to seek information on Twitter gives any internet user is – to say the least – Amazing. When using only Twitter, I usually will tend to take two approaches, both of which are as effective. However, one is much more personal and probably better off for you in the end.

Hunt & Apply

In hunting and applying it’s a much less intimate and more of the, “Go on Monster.com and submit your résumé” approach. Here’s your opportunity to show your Search Skills.

Search.Twitter.com – depending on your industry you know what kind of job you’re hoping to get into. Hashtags like #jobs, #job, and #hiring are some of the most common, and usually lead to decent Twitter postings to a job description. By using Boolean search operators like AND or OR (they must be capitalized), you can add in multiple search terms and get rid of irrelevant posts.

For example, if you are looking for a freelance writing job your search terms might look like this: Freelance writing OR writer AND #Jobs OR #Job. This will find Tweets that have the words Freelance writing or in place of writing, writer. As well as the hashtags #jobs,or #job. The AND forces the search to include either of those hashtags.

Besides a solid Twitter search, there are many profiles which are automated aggregations of postings. One of the best ones for the D.C. area is the Washington Post Jobs. They have over 30 accounts with job opportunities listed in bulk on their Twitter feed, each feed for a different industry. See the full list. Looking for accounts like these are incredibly helpful, and you can build a list of only these feeds to keep a solid eye on them.

Build the Relationship

Thanks to Chris Penn‘s amazing email newsletter, he forwarded on this little gem of a tool.

Followerwonk.com – Similar to Twitter’s advanced search, but lets you search users’ bio’s. This is powerful. What followerwonk lets you do is target by keywords in Biographies and by location. In a job hunt this is crucial. For example, if I am looking for a marketing job in Raleigh, NC, I would try to reach out to a marketing manager or director of marketing in the area. Thus, my search terms would look like this: Manager OR Director OR VP AND Marketing, and in the Location use Raleigh, NC. Watch as the influencers/directors/managers, etc. all show up in your search results.

Tack these results into a list, and let the relationship building begin. Keep these prime users in a separate list, and engage them. Make yourself, your expertise, and the fact that you’re job hunting known. As these relationships build trust and the people begin to know you, your relationship with them gets stronger and stronger. When the time comes for you to tell them about your job hunt, you’re much more likely to be looked at more closely.

Never Overlook a Handshake

While a good Twitter search, or online relationship building never hurts, you must never overlook the power of meeting someone face-to-face. Be yourself, and be the same person you are online. Meet up for a beer, or lunch, or whatever, but being able to talk to someone in person holds its own power.

One thing I notice is the vast amount of articles coming around that are talking about interviews, their processes and their tips. I want to give a different perspective; try doing the same thing everyone else is from a different country. It actually makes it a lot tougher, even though you might not think so.

My Problem

If you follow my blog you realize, I’m currently studying in Alicante, Spain, my 3rd year of my international business major. As much as I am loving it, it makes apartment hunting and job hunting for the upcoming summer and school year much more difficult.

As much as I would love to send in a snail mail copy of my resumé or give a quick ring to the HR department of wherever I would like to apply, it financially isn’t that feasable. Doable, just not reasonably. The benefits of using some direct contact methods that help by being stateside:

• You usually get to talk to someone, and if you’re anything like me thats much more reasurring than sending your resumé into the black hole of the online database.
• The advantage of the company receiving a physical copy of your resumé shows not only your persistence but your will to succeed and advance in the working world

The Realization

The first step is realizing you have a problem. When you get stuck in a difficult situation, you probably already know it. So understanding that you are in this pickle is naturally the first thing you need to do. Then after that you can begin focusing on ways to rectify, and make the problem one that is almost non existent.

The Solution

Anticipation. The simple fact that you can anticipate these problems make the solution much easier. My Suggestions:

• Skype: If you haven’t found the many many benefits of Skype yet, I suggest giving it a try. Should you be called for an interview you have an economical and practical way to conduct a phone interview on the cheap, especially if YOU have to call.
• Google Voice: 2 benefits here: Recorded transcriptions and a proper phone number where you can receive a transcribed voicemail in case you get a call back.
• LinkedIn: The online resume: get connected, get out there, and get known.

Naturally, I’m still going through my application process for this summer, but as more develops and more comes my way, I’ll be more than happy to clue you in on my tips. If you have any please leave them in the comments.

Image by Ben Heine

BenHeine.com

Posted via web from Greg’s posterous

I had the joy of being able to send over a few interview questions to the CEO of Zappos, Tony, and here’s what we had.

What gave your company the idea to run a site that catered to a market
> of people who wanted shoes?

History of the company is here:

http://www.zappos.com/about.zhtml

Our #1 priority as a company is our company culture.  We believe that if
we get the culture right, most of the other stuff, including great
customer service, will fall into place on its own.  Long term, we want the
Zappos brand to be about the very best customer service and the very best
customer experience.

For Twitter, we don’t really view it as a marketing channel so much as a
way to connect on a more personal level, whether it’s with our employees
or our existing customers.

Initially, we started getting the entire company more involved with
Twitter because we saw it as a great way to help build our company
culture.  But then we discovered it was also a great way to connect with
customers as well.

We have a presence on MySpace and Facebook, but most of our focus has been
on Twitter because it’s much more personal.

> How do you use online marketing to improve sales?

Online marketing definitely drives some of our sales, including buying
keywords on search engines such as Google and our associates program.

Okay, so, you’ve got your resume out into the world, and they love it. Next thing you know you’re getting calls for interviews allover.

So how do you ace an interview and manage to literally awe the interviewee?

• Know your stuff – This is always No. 1. Cause really, if you don’t know why you’re there or what they like you for. You’re done for. Do your best to sell yourself by knowing your facts and being able to back yourself up with your knowledge. This will give you an upper edge by having all your information on the top of your head.
• Charisma! – This is the fun one. Make them like you, you should be able to stand out against possibly hundreds of candidates. Always try to give them something to remember you by, you want to stick out in a good way. Always try to not come over too immature or joking that they won’t take you serious. Keep your charisma and stand out!
• Find out what makes their company tick – Always try to understand the company, their management, and their staff. What brings them together? Do they bond well? Would you be able to see yourself getting along here and being productive? These are all similar questions you want to answer to better understand what makes this company better to work for? If it fits you, reiterate these qualities about yourself to the interviewer, they will be likely to see the bond you will have.
• Know what they’re looking for – This somewhat fits to the last one. Know what they want, do you have it? Understand the company, and then you will be able to get yourself in their loop.
• Listen – Do not come across overly strong, always take your time to sit back and listen. It shows qualities that you are willing to learn. But also don’t remain so quiet you come across as shy, and do not have good qualifications. Balance listening and charisma.
• Make them Love you – Do what you need to do to make you stand out, and have them know you are the candidate they want. But don’t over power them, you don’t want to be an annoyance.