Twitter Me This – Recruiting in 140 characters?

“Feel... Felt… Found…” Three words one of my business partners, Jonathan Buzelan (Twitter: @buzelan) stressed to me as he helped develop my sales skills. “You need to see their side, before you can bring them to yours,” he would say. “Let your client know you understand how they feel. If you ever felt that way, tell them; and finally, share with them what you learnt that got you to think differently.” The philosophy was simple, as he explained it, “changing someone’s mindset can be a near impossibility, but if you provide them with new information, then they may be willing to form a new opinion.” Why try to convince someone of your truth when it easier to get them to discover it on their own. And what in the world does this have to do with Twitter?

When I first started exploring social media groups I was not convinced that it had any use beyond the obvious: sharing photos of my children at the lake with friends and family. I was convinced that this was the limit of its power. The idea that social media sites could help develop business relationships or any “real” relationship for that matter did not seem possible. I knew Linkedin existed but I thought of it as nothing more than an online rolodex that at the time was still in its infancy.

As the popularity of social media sites grew, I made it my business to learn more about them. I was already sharing much of my personal life on Facebook and details about my professional life on Linkedin. But what was completely unclear to me was the value and worth of the social media site or better yet “social media tool” called “Twitter”. What value could a billboard like tool which limits you to a 140 characters deliver?

At first glance, Twitter seems like the least significant of all the three Social media tools. But what I learned was that Twitter is a lot more powerful than people realize. As the Practice Leader for CFO2Grow’s CFO Search practice one of my goals is to be top of mind for CFOs, CEOs, Board Members, Investors and other business leaders in my online and offline community. Having been in the Financial Recruiting business for over 10 years and in the finance world for 20, I have developed many incredible contacts from which I have learned much. Being top of mind comes from sharing that knowledge base and experience and then delivering that relevant content to my network.

Twitter is much more than an electronic billboard; it is the way I reach out to the online world. In 140 characters, the snippet of content I send out becomes a form of free advertising about a blog (like this one), an article I read, a new job posting, a Facebook or LinkedIn update, or even just a retweet that I can easily share with my network . And the more interesting and relevant my tweets, the more people are likely to click through and read on. Providing relevant and informative content is part and parcel of being top of mind, and staying there.

A 2010 Jobvite Social Recruiting Survey stated that while 78% of companies and recruiters use LinkedIn for recruiting and 54% use Facebook, Twitter sits at a respectable 3rd place with 44%. While there is no question that LinkedIn will continue to be the lead choice for recruiters and their companies, as Twitter grows in popularity it has the potential to surpass Facebook in its relevance to the online recruiting community. The Jobvite study further stated that while Facebook use for recruiting grew 15%, Twitter’s popularity has gone up by 32%. Harnessing Twitter’s potential is the next big thing for the recruiting community.

So if you are still scratching your head at the thought of being Twitter user, then let me say this, “I understand how you feel, because that is how I felt, but let me tell you what I found out.”

Follow us on Twitter @cfo2grow. (To follow Samuel go to Twitter @cfo2dergel)

(“Twitter Me This - Recruiting in 140 characters?” is part of an ongoing discussion on Social Media and recruiting. Here are 2 more related Blogs you may be interested in reading: “What Your LinkedIn Profile Says About You”, and “Is Facebook a Career Killer?”)