How to Use Twitter Lists to find an Amazing Job

If you’re on the job hunt, I’ve been there and I know how you feel. It can be overwhelming and discouraging, to say in the least. The lack of structure in your life can be depressing and things can get quite tight without the income.

According to Careershifters, only 30% of all new jobs are advertised. Only 30%! The remaining 70% of those new jobs are given to people who are “in the know”—perhaps a friend of a friend.

That may sound discouraging if you’re looking for a job but I’m here to tell you that you can use this to your advantage. A great tool for leveraging this: Twitter lists. Trust me, they’re powerful.

Companies will often create a list that showcases their staff.

Do you realize what this means? It means you can build relationships with the staff without ever having to step foot in the building for a job interview. It’s not about who you know, it’s who knows you. If you’re in good standing with a portion of the company’s staff, that’s a significant advantage over another bland resume in an endless stack of overlooked paperwork.

How do you find these lists?

I’ll use the New York Times as an example because that would be a cool place to work, right? If you click on their Twitter profile and hover over “More”, you’ll be able to see their lists. This is just below the cover photo where you’ll see “TWEETS”, “PHOTOS/VIDEOS”, “FOLLOWING”, “FOLLOWERS”, and “FAVORITES”.

You can filter the lists by latest tweets or by members. After you filter the list by the members, begin to follow the staff members. After that, take these three simple steps:

1.) Create a physical list of the top 10 companies you would like to work for.

When I say list this time, I’m talking about a good ol’ fashion list, all you need is a pen and paper. Write down ten companies where you would absolutely love to work and don’t be afraid to dream big. Don’t let geography limit you either.

2.) Check to see if those companies have a Twitter list that showcases their staff.

If they don’t have a list, it’s not the end of the world. There are ways around it but that topic is for another day. For the time being, just skip over the company and move on to the next company on your physical list.

3.) Reach out to one person from 2-3 companies each day.

For example, let’s say it’s Monday and you have The New York Times, Etsy, and Basecamp (formerly known as 37signals) on your list. Reach out to one person from each of the three companies throughout the day. On Tuesday, move on to the next 2-3 companies.

When reaching out, just tweet something relevant to them. Maybe someone mentioned one of your favorite movies. Perhaps someone called themselves a fellow coffee addict. This is simply social and it’s lighthearted. Do not ask them for a job at this point. After you get the conversation rolling, you can then send them an email and make things a little more formal.

Repeat this process until you have some nice, organic conversations going.

We all need to earn money to pay for food and rent, I get that. You may not have a lot of time to spare on your job hunt. Perhaps “being picky” isn’t a luxury you can afford at the moment. But I promise your hard work and sacrifice will pay off if you can hang in there. This may mean having to work part time in retail. This may mean having to move back in with your parents. It’s okay, we’re Millennials and such measures wouldn’t exactly be “unheard of” these days.

This is a way to land a job, not because you need a job…but because you want to work at this company. You want to feel fulfilled at the end of the day and you want to be an asset to a company that you find to be extremely cool.

People do business with people they know, like, and trust. People hire people they know, like, and trust. If you can build relationships, you will have a real chance of getting an amazing job at an incredible company. By the way, I’m talking about building genuine relationships. Don’t be manipulative and don’t try to move people around like pawns on a chessboard. You aren’t Frank Underwood.

Doesn’t that sound better than sending half a dozen resumes on Monster every day? Doesn’t that sound better than sifting through unpaid internships on Craigslist? I think so.

What are some cool companies where you would like to work?

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