Luckily Telephone or Twitter is not an absolute choice. You can use both in your job search campaign.
Over the past few months I’ve read several how to use Twitter for Job Search e books and articles. If you are not familiar with the concept, consider trying this link.
Twitter:
- is easy to use.
- has great utility in connecting with constituents fast.
- provides a great forum to demonstrate expertise as well as build your personal brand.
- is emerging as a job listing resource through tweetmyjobs, tweetajob and others.
That said, I believe Twitter is an example of marketing with soft engagement. (Email represents another soft engagement). What is soft engagement? Let me explain.
It is has simply become too easy to sit at ones desktop and Tweet (or email) all day. As a matter of fact, many power Tweeters, simply set up a series of timed scripts using Hoot Suite and other Twitter management tools. I view this type of activity as soft engagement. It has it’s benefits for brand building, but it really does not get at the crux of finding a new position. Getting hired requires real contact and engagement with hiring managers.
In my opinion, despite the growth of social media in recruiting efforts, the overwhelming majority of hiring managers, rarely read blind emails or mine Twitter for critical new hires. This is not to suggest hiring managers do not use Twitter. My point is that we are clearly in a time of electronic information overload. It is too easy to tweet or send emails. Since it is so easy to push information out, Twitter and email are getting more and more cluttered. They are loaded with useless information (including Spam), and folks with limited time, are not as engaged with these electronic communications as one might think.
Now contrast this with the telephone. Everyone has seen their communicating mediums shift over the last decade. Although I can not defend these statistics, I believe it is fair to state, the business community has flipped how they communicate from 80% phone, 20% online communication 10-15 years ago, to; 20% phone, 80% online communication in 2010. (These percentages are meant to be more illustrative than factual.) I believe, herein lies an opportunity for job seekers. Hiring managers are receiving less phone calls and less voice mails than you might think. Also, in general, my personal experience is that folks are picking up their phone more frequently than they did a decade ago.
Perhaps simplistic in approach, but I would strongly suggest you have a better chance of getting a hiring managers attention, to your candidacy, using the telephone than through electronic communication. If you call very early or very late in the day, you will even have a greater chance of getting them on the phone as opposed to voicemail. Yes, it takes a little more effort, confidence and drive to use the telephone, but I believe your personal return on investment will be greater.
If you are serious about finding work faster, do not hide behind the ease of soft engagement. Leverage all communication mediums, but please pick up the phone.
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I recently received the following email from a former Monster executive and thought it worth sharing with you.
I recently read an article in the NY Times which resonated with me because of the parallels I saw in packaging myself to prospective employers…and the value prop Career Brander delivers. The article, “The Muddled Selling of the President” (January 29, 2010) was about defining oneself (US presidents) to shape how others (voters, constituents, opponents) perceive you. The most effective leaders “have cultivated thematic definitions of themselves to shape the way their choices are perceived. A strong, clear narrative helps a president connect with voters and explain the journey he is leading. The lack of one invites opponents to craft a less flattering portrayal.” An image-maker also commented, “You’ve got to have a clear, easy to understand story.” Very relevant to the job search, especially in a fiercely competitive landscape. Here’s the link, if your interested in reading more or gleaning additional positioning ideas/statements:http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/31/weekinreview/31stevenson.html
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