Job Search with Twitter

By now you've probably heard of Twitter. But did you know the site can be a useful tool for anyone embarking on a job search?

For those few who haven't heard of the site, it's a real-time short messaging service that works on multiple networks and devices. The site allows users to provide short - 140 characters or less - updates and to "follow" other users, meaning you'll receive their updates on your main page.

The site began as a way to connect with friends, but today it has grown into much more. Several professional organizations are twittering, from The New York Times to the Today Show, as well as several celebrities, from Ashton Kutcher to Oprah. The site also has turned into a way to network with people, including people who might be able to offer you a job.

Because of this, many Twitter apps have emerged that serve the sole purpose of helping users find a job through the site. A few examples of these apps include:

TwitterJobSearch.com - This site offers users a "what do you want to do" box and uses semantic tools to analyze what you're looking for and match you with other Twitterers.

TwtJobs.com - Created by Twtapps, this site allows users to create a Twitter resume or post job openings on Twitter. The goal is to give job seekers a simple and effective way to become better known on Twitter and to allow employers to advertise open positions.

TwitterJobCast - This local job search site allows users to see who's hiring on Twitter. Users can search for jobs by city, state or zip code. The site works by making requests to the Twitter API and the Yahoo! Maps API is used to translate locations into geocodes.

JobMotel - This site allows users to search for Web developer jobs that are listed on Twitter by mining the site for related jobs and sending an rss feed.

TweetMyJobs - Combining recruiters, hiring managers and job seekers, this site creates Twitter Channels for major cities and job types and offers an easy-to-use interface to subscribe to the channels. Aside from accessing jobs on the site or Twitter, users can have job openings send to their cell phone via a text message.

Splits.org - Created by Jason Davis of Recruiting.com and Recruiting Blogs, this site lets recruiters partake in splits. A split is when one recruiter finds the job and another recruiter finds the candidate. Twitter acts as the site's engine, allowing recruiters to input a search query to find matches for specific categories and locations.

Some other useful apps include ConnectTweet, Twellow, TweetBeep, HashDictionary, TweetDeck, TwitterSearch, NearByTweets, Twollo and Twitscoop.

Traditional job boards are getting in on the action as well. For instance, JobCircle.com launched the Social Media Recruitment Pack, which enables companies to create privately-branded Twitter job channels, where they can tweet open positions to the Twitter audience.

Aside from these apps, Twitter's own search feature allows you to find users who might have jobs to offer. Simply typing "#jobs" into the search box brings up a list of job-oriented users.