Tweet-Tweet

So after losing my job at a world-renowned entertainment technology firm recently (I worked there as a marketing writer for nearly four years), I joined the ranks of 'workers in transition' and began looking for ways to enhance my job-seeking skills. While signing up for unemployment insurance at the local EDD, a counselor told me about a group of professionals (white collar workers) who meet weekly to network, share insights, and benefit from the insights of an array of weekly speakers who focus on helping you find and get the job you want. This all sounded good, and I decided to attend.

As I was to learn, the first portion of each meeting is devoted to the elevator pitch. With 60 or more people in the room, this takes at least an hour. Each one of us stands up individually, faces the group, and communicates in a few sentences what we do and what type of job we're looking for.

It's interesting and often amusing to listen to the various types of elevator pitches--those that exude studied cleverness, phony enthusiasm, or glorified background and experience. But cynicism aside, most of the pitches are excellent and have inspired me to improve my own. The people with great elevator pitches share a set of characteristics. They have good posture and an open smile. They are obviously confident and relaxed. They manage to have eye contact with everyone in the room, and they manage to communicate, clearly and simply, exactly what it is they do and want. And perhaps more important than anything--you believe them.

Recently we had two speakers who discussed the wonders of social media and how we as job seekers could use it to our advantage. Now, obviously I have a blog. (As a good friend of mine says as part of her email signature, "I blog, therefore I am.") Well, until listening to these two speakers, I felt rather confident about my social media involvement. Besides having a personal blog, I'm on Facebook, LinkedIn, and have my own website, which includes an online portfolio. As a kicker, I created a blog devoted entirely to my movie reviews.

As I listened to the presentation, I was feeling increasingly uncomfortable. For all my supposed Internet-savviness, I had apparently overlooked an essential--Twitter. I had heard of Twitter, of course. How could you not? And what I heard made me think it was utterly ridiculous. Do I really care if Stacey is having a latte at Starbucks while texting her boyfriend? No. I already resented the onslaught of idiotic 'updates' and group invitations from Facebook, so I really didn't want yet another distraction, not to mention time-zap.

But then they started talking about the network, in terms of the world-wide "web." And it made sense. Too much sense, actually. (Although I can't help but wonder what happened to the idea of privacy and seclusion, the idea of NOT sharing information about yourself to the world at large. Especially when you consider the prevalence of identity theft.)

I put these skepticisms aside, at least temporarily, and realized that to be 'aware' and ‘tapped in’ to this new society of social networking, I needed to use these networking tools in an entirely different way. No, I didn't care about Stacey having a cup of coffee and doubted if anyone cared if I was drinking tea. But what if I were to post a piece of valuable information on Twitter, say about job hunting, that linked to my blog? And what if interested job seekers started linking to it, even including a link to it in their own blogs, 'tweets' or whatever else? And what if potential employers searched for me and saw that I’m connected all over the place and that I supply fascinating links and information. . . This is precisely what the speakers were talking about. So I started getting excited about it. I suddenly saw the potential. I could be a part of this reinvented world wide web--talk about self-branding!

So now, yes, I'm on Twitter. And I chose a very cool background and have a unique and evocative Twitter name. And I'm writing tweets, and posting links, and being very networked in. And of course, I’m sure I could do even more.

But you know what? It still seems rather ridiculous. I feel coerced into a form a self-promotion that seems manipulative at best. I'm starting to long for those days depicted in old movies--when getting a job meant circling an ad in a newspaper, mailing a cover letter and resume, and waiting for a phone call inviting you to an interview. Doesn't that sound deliciously simple and straightforward? Maybe I'll mention that in my next 'tweet.'