Don’t Get Twitter? Start Chatting & You Will
Technical Career
Sheree Van Vreede (@rezlady)For social media junkies, it is sometimes hard to believe that not everyone is in love with #SoMe like we are. Yet every week our firm, ITtechExec, speaks with high-level technical clients who barely have a LinkedIn profile (considered the very rudimentary of social media existence) and are not especially keen on “wasting” time on Twitter.
Although those of us who have had great success with social media may disagree, we do have to admit that a person can waste time on Twitter. But just because you can doesn’t mean you will if you know what you’re doing.
In my mind, one of the best innovations to happen to Twitter is the formation of chats. These are typically weekly, biweekly, monthly topical discussions that take place at a set day/time and are hosted by fellow Tweeps. By simply following a specific hashtag at that day and time, you can follow the discussion and join in (as long as you add that hashtag to the end of your tweet).
With more than 600 chats happening across Twitter each week, it was surprising to me that none of them catered to IT and technical career issues, especially as the war for talent in the technical arena is heating up. Well, now we have one. Hosted by the Technical Career Forum, #TCFchat is held each Wednesday at 3pm Eastern.
Topics covered during #TCFchat include:
- Job Market Trends
- Technical Resume Strategies
- Personal/Professional Branding
- Job Search Strategies
- IT/Technical Recruiting
- Networking Strategies
For a sample of a past discussion, check out [View the story “Tech Career Forum Branding, Resume ATS & Job Search” on Storify] from 5/9/2012.
Now, last week, I wrote about how important it is for techies to become more “engaged” in social media and to start becoming more proactive in career planning. Here is a great opportunity to do just that.
And even more, it is an opportunity to use Twitter without “wasting” precious time. You can speak with purpose to others interested in the same topics as you and you can network with industry and career leaders.
To learn more about #TCFchat, touch base with Stephen, the @ITtechExec on Twitter, or join the LI group to stay posted on weekly topics/discussions. To find out about the 600 other Twitter chats, follow @chatschedule on Twitter or do a basic Google search on Twitter chat schedules. A whole list of options will come up to check out.
You can also find me at some of my favorite other chats, such as #tchat (hosted by @TalentCulture on Wed. @ 7pm Eastern) and #ITchat (hosted by Dell Tuesdays at 1pm Eastern).
ITtechExec: Protecting Tech Careers Since 2001 
Thanks for mentioning your chat, I’ll have to join in sometime! Do you know about http://twebevent.com/? You might check that out for your chats if you’re not already using it
paulmshirey
May 18, 2012
Good advice, Paul! Thanks for sharing. I will check it out. Sheree
@Rezlady & @ITtechExec: Career Pros for Technical Candidates
May 18, 2012
The tweet chat mentioned above sounds interesting, though it’s clearly targeted at those who aren’t already working that time of day.
Great point: If you don’t understand Twitter yet, open the fire hose. 😉
Steve (JoeBugBugster) Case
May 22, 2012
Hi Steve,
You touched on a significant issue with Twitter chats: picking the best time to have them! With participants spread across the US and elsewhere, it is hard to find the best time. I do know that the Tech Career Forum is considering having an evening version at some point.
@Rezlady & @ITtechExec: Career Pros for Technical Candidates
May 23, 2012