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Amber Johnson at Job Profiles suggested that BioJobBlog readers might be interested in this post about Twitter and job searches. While I can’t personally speak to the utility of using Twitter as a job search tool, it certainly can’t hurt to give it a try in today’s challenging economy. 

100 Useful Twitter Tools and Feeds for Your Job Search

If you're searching for a job, surely you've learned about the extensive amount of tools available online to help you land your perfect position. But did you know that Twitter is the hottest job search tool out there today? It's true -- employers, recruiters, and job search sites are flocking to the service. Check out this list to find tools and feeds on Twitter that can be a great help to your job search.

Search

Use these tools to search for the jobs being posted on Twitter.

1. TwitterJobSearch: With TwitterJobSearch, you'll be able to find tweets about jobs posted on Twitter.
2. TwitterTroll: TwitterTroll is a really useful real-time Twitter search engine.
3. Twitter Job Finder: Find fresh jobs on Twitter from the last 7 days on Twitter Job Finder.
4. Tweet Scan: Perform searches and register for email alerts using Tweet Scan.
5. TwitterJobCast: TwitterJobCasts' local job search will help you see who is hiring on Twitter in your area.
6. NearByTweets: You can search Twitter by keyword and location with NearByTweets.
7. TwitHire: This Twitter-based job board broadcasts a variety of listings.
8. JobMotel: Search for Twitter web developer jobs on this site.

Connections

With these tools, you'll be able to find and manage connections with others on Twitter.

9. TwitterMind: With TwitterMind, you can seek out Twitter users from the companies you'd like to work for and ask them for referrals.
10. Twellow: Use Twellow to identify the leaders you should connect with in your industry or community.
11. Workhound: Find a directory of the best Twitter job feeds on Workhound.
12. Just Tweet It: Find other Twitter users with similar interests on Just Tweet It.
13. TwitDir: Find some of the top Twitter users in this Twitter directory.
14. Twubble: Twubble will help you find more people to follow, reflecting on who your followers are following.
15. Twollo: With Twollo, you'll be able to automatically follow users with similar interests to yours.
16. FriendOrFollow: Find people you need to ditch, or followers you've overlooked with FriendOrFollow.
17. Find People: With Twitter's Find People tool, you can find or invite the people in your email address books to join you on Twitter.
18. Tweepsearch: Search Twitter bios and find recruiters using this tool.

Organization

Stay organized in your Twitter job search with these tools.

19. TweetDeck: Use TweetDeck to categorize your Twitter feeds, separating contacts with job listing feeds, and more.
20. Twuffer: Use Twuffer to compose and schedule future tweets.

19. Flock O'Tweets: This Twitter tool allows you to get feeds of multiple Twitter users sent to you by RSS.
20. Tweepler: Organize your followers and friends with the help of this app.
21. Splitweet: If you're using separate Twitter accounts for different functions, Splitweet can help you out.
22. Twit.io: Twit.io offers a social micro database that works as a solution to list jobs and more.
23. twtjobs: twtjobs is a simple career manager Twitter app.

Monitoring & Research

Stay on top of job alerts with the help of these tools.

26. TweetBeep: Set up alerts to find out about jobs as soon as they're tweeted with the help of TweetBeep.
27. TweetMyJobs: Subscribe to Twitter channels for jobs types and major cities, then get instant notification of new jobs on Twitter from TweetMyJobs.
28. TwitterHawk: Find people talking on Twitter about your chosen topic and location using TwitterHawk.
29. Twilert: Use this Twitter application to get regular email updates about tweets containing your brand, name, keyword, and more.
30. Twitter Job Alerts: Get direct messages sent to your Twitter account that match your CareerBuilder searches by setting up alerts with Twitter Job Alerts.
31. ConnectTweet: Learn about what's going on inside companies using ConnectTweet.
32. Monitter: Monitter can be used to find information about companies and find conversations about them.
33. Tweet Tag: Browse popular topics on Twitter and join in the conversation with Tweet Tag.

Your Message

Make the most of your Tweets by using these tools.

34. VisualCV: Link your online resume created on VisualCV on your Twitter bio.
35. PingVine: Use PingVine's service to automatically post an RSS feed from your blog to Twitter.
36. HashDictionary: Become a part of a group by using their hashtag. You can find the most popular and usable ones on HashDictionary.
37. HelloTXT: Make the most of your tweets by simulcasting them to Facebook, LinkedIn, and more.

Advice & Professionals

Learn all about job searching on Twitter and beyond from these professionals and advice feeds.

38. @exectweets: @exectweets will help you find and follow business executives on Twitter.
39. @cbsalary: @cbsalary shares news and tools for job seekers who want to learn about salaries.
40. @jobsearchnews: Here you'll find tweets full of the latest job search news.
41. @JobAngels: The guardian angels on @jobangels can help you find a job, and assist you when you help others find a job as well.
42. @PinkSlipParty09: Network with Pink Slip Party to help others find jobs, and find one for yourself as well.
43. @theonlinebeat: Use @theonlinebeat as a meta-engine for finding a job on Twitter.
44. @careertips: Get tips on your career with the help of Career Opportunities Broadcast.
45. @workerswork: @workerswork shares career, job, and work related news.
46. @JobHuntOrg: Susan Joyce is the owner of an award winning employment portal, Job-Hunt.org.
47. @jobwisdom: Get tips and advice for job hunting on @jobwisdom.
48. @PRjobs: Learn about Public Relations recruiting from Lindsay Olson.
49. @MonsterCareers: Get career advice and discussions from Monster.com.
50. @SimplyHired: Simply Hired works to make your job search simple and effective.
51. @CAREERALISM: Get advice from top career experts and be alerted about opportunities through @CAREEREALISM.
52. @snagajob: Get help with your part time or hourly job search from @snagajob.
53. @jobhunting: Jim Stroud shares happy news from the job market.
54. @ResumeBear: Follow @ResumeBear to learn how you can advance your career and improve your resume.
55. @jobnob: Learn about real salaries and find a job with Jobnob.
56. @jobshouts: Jobshouts is a great tool for finding a job through social media.
57. @workhappynow: @workhappynow encourages people to be happier with their work.
58. @BrazenCareerist: Get inspired to define your career and control your life by @BrazenCareerist.
59. @microjobs: @microjobs works to connect people with new opportunities on Twitter.
60. @applicants: @applicants shares information about jobs, freelancing, and more.
61. @cheezhead: Joel Cheesman stays on top of Internet recruiting here.
62. @tferriss: Tim Ferriss can teach you about loving your work more.
63. @twtjobs: Use @twtjobs, a simple Twitter career management app.
64. @CBforJobSeekers: Follow CareerBuilder's top job search experts here.

Job Listing Feeds

These feeds offer a direct line to job postings on Twitter.

65. @Elance_Jobs: Find out about the latest featured jobs on Elance.com here.
66. @freelance_jobs: Learn about fresh freelance jobs straight from @freelance_jobs.
67. @doscareers: @doscareers lists careers in Foreign Affairs.
68. @rocketjobs: Follow @rocketjobs to get updates about the best jobs in Ireland.
69. @thejobsguy: Ken Horst shares online recruiting and job search resources as well as new postings every day.
70. @hiremymom: @hiremymom works to connect at-home professionals with jobs and projects.
71. @RecruitDirect: Find direct jobs in Ireland on this Twitter account.
72. @HRCrossing: Check out @HRCrossing for the latest in HR jobs.
73. @media_pros: Find out about jobs for media professionals through @media_pros.
74. @joblister: Find work throughout the US and Canada from @joblister.
75. @myfirstpaycheck: Check out @myfirstpaycheck to find listings, resources, and more for teen job seekers.
76. @jobsitejobs: @jobsitejobs will send you personal job tweets to help you find work.
77. @travelnursejob: Follow @travelnursejob to learn about travel nursing opportunities throughout the US.
78. @37jobs: Get listings from the 37signals job board on @37jobs.
79. @elance: Learn about freelance opportunities through @elance.
80. @web20jobs: Check out @web20jobs for a real time tracker of Web 2.0 jobs.
81. @authenticjobs: Learn about savvy, authentic jobs available through @authenticjobs.
82. @journalism_jobs: @journalism_jobs will alert you to jobs in journalism, editorial, PR, and media sales.
83. @twitjobsearch: @twitjobsearch is the first semantic job search engine for Twitter.
84. @euractivjobsite: Follow the EurActiv JobSite to get an EU job of the day.
85. @execSearches: @execSearches connects talent with perfect positions.
86. @odesk: Follow @oDesk to be a part of the marketplace for online workteams.
87. @socialmediajob: Find your social media job on social media through @socialmediajob.
88. @newretailjobs: Get the hottest retail job opening leads every 30 minutes from major cities through @newretailjobs.
89. @juicyjobs: With @juicyjobs, you'll learn about green jobs in the UK.
90. @execjobs: ExecJobs finds six figure jobs for executives on Twitter.
91. @indeed: @indeed is a job search engine that aggregates all of the most important job sites.
92. @jobsearch: Emurse's Twitter feed offers listings, advice, and more.
93. @manpower: Find out what Manpower is recruiting for on this feed.
94. @Joblighted: @Joblighted offers a feed of Twitter tech jobs.
95. @publishingjobs: This feed will alert you to jobs in publishing available on Twitter.
96. @startuphire: @StartUpHire will alert you to jobs available at startups backed with venture capital.
97. @seojobs: Check out @seojobs to learn about SEO/SEM jobs available in the US.
98. @WorkInSports: Make your passion your career by finding a job through @WorkInSports.
99. @JobWire: Follow @JobWire to learn about the best jobs in Australia.
100. @krop_jobs: @krop_jobs updates on the latest creative and tech jobs.

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Yesterday, I gave a lecture entitled “Alternate Careers: Taking the Road Less Traveled” to over 100 members of the University of Pennsylvania’s Biomedical Graduate Student Association. As always, there were many good questions and comments during and after the presentation. Some of the career anecdotes offered by several of the students reminded me of a conversation that I had several weeks ago with one of my Fundamentals of Bioscience students—I teach a Product Development and Regulatory Affairs course in the program—who refreshed my memory about a typical graduate student approach to career development and job searching. “We don’t think about jobs or our careers until we begin writing our PhD theses” she said. “Until then, our advisers don’t talk about careers or jobs and only bring it up because our funding will run out” she added. Admittedly, I had forgotten this because so many years have passed since my graduate student days. That said, it forced me to consider how much the life sciences job market has changed since I was graduate student and how vitally important it is for today’s graduate students to think about and possibly explore different career options throughout the course of their graduate training.

Historically, there were very few career options for life scientists—it was either a tenure track faculty appointment or, as a poor second choice, a job at a pharmaceutical or biotechnology. Unfortunately, academics jobs are hard to come by and since 2007 over 60,000 pharmaceutical R&D scientists have lost their jobs and more cuts are expected. Also, many of these jobs are likely come back after the economy improves because many of the R&D activities performed by these scientists are being outsourced to India, China and elsewhere. This suggests that a majority of life sciences graduate students who receive their PhDs within the next few years won’t be able to secure traditional life sciences jobs. While a majority of US life sciences graduate training programs recognize and understand the implications of the changing job market, many are reluctant to discuss alternate career options with graduate students and postdoctoral fellows. Even fewer, encourage or support students or postdoctoral fellows who want to engage in “extracurricular activities” to explore alternate career options. In fact, several U Penn students told me that they have to obtain written permission from their adviser before they can take courses or participate in extra-departmental activities. As one student quipped “What I do on my own time should be my business not my boss's.”

I always conclude my alternate career talk by saying “Nobody ever guaranteed you a job after completion of your PhD or postdoctoral training.” And, “if you wanted a job after completing your education, you ought to have gone to medical school, dental school, law school or any other profession that requires licensure to practice your craft.” While this may sound harsh, I believe that the decision to get a PhD is a personal one and based on discussion with many of my colleagues, most didn’t enter graduate school expecting a job to be waiting them when they completed their training. Nevertheless, I contend that graduate departments that continue to train and prepare students for traditional academic careers —knowing that over 90% won’t find jobs (other than postdocs) after their training is finished —are being disingenuous and even deceitful. Why haven’t academician realized that there is a plethora of job opportunities for life scientists outside of academia?

Like it or not, the life sciences job market has undergone radical changes in the past decade. Unfortunately, academics continue to adhere to dogmatic and anachronistic ideas and practices that don’t prepare their students and postdoctoral fellows for jobs in “the real world.” I contend that informing and enlightening graduate students about alternate career paths and, allowing them to explore some of these opportunities will not impede or hinder laboratory research. Instead, I believe it would help to improve and expedite its progress. As one U Penn graduate student shared with me over a couple of beers “If they would just tell us the truth and give us some idea about our options, it would certainly improve morale, reduce our anxiety and allow us to focus on our research because we would know what is out there!” As the old adage goes”ignorance is bliss.” But, in my experience, knowledge is power!

Until next time....

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting!!!!!!!!!!

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Using Facebook and Twitter to find jobs is becoming routine in many industries including healthcare. However, the life sciences industry is lagging behind most others when it comes to social media and recruitment. Nevertheless, many companies and academic institutions are beginning to realize that Facebook (FB), Twitter and other science social networks are good source of qualified candidates for  those difficult-to fill job openings. 

Lindsey Pollak, a GenY career guru who, writes on the use of social media for job searching, alerted me to a post (via Twitter @biojobblog) that describes how to effectively use FB to find a job.  While FB may be useful to scientist looking for work, there are many other bioscience social networks like BioCrowd (@biocrowd) that regularly post jobs and career opportunities for life scientists.

Until next time...

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting 

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It shouldn’t come as much of a surprise, but according to a recent survey of 3,000 job seekers conducted by the outplacement firm Challenger, Gray and Christmas the time it takes to find a job is growing longer. For example, the median time for job searches conducted by those winning positions grew from 3.6 months in the second quarter to 4.4 months in the third quarter of 2008. Also, it found that 13.4% of job seekers relocated to take new positions in the third quarter of 2008. While this is up from a first quarter figure of 8.9%, it is still lower than the percentage of job seekers (15%-16%) who relocated in 2006 and part of 2007. 

As layoffs increase and the US economy worsens the percentage of people willing to relocate for new positions will likely increase even as home prices continue to fall. Unfortunately, some job seekers may find themselves trapped (despite a willingness to relocate) because of an inability to sell their homes. Put simply, this may be one of the toughest job markets in recent history.

However, as a well known recruiter once told me: “All too often, job seekers allow themselves to get mired in the doom and gloom of a failing job market. However, if they can remember to approach a job search with a mindset of “all I need is a single job offer” then they will undoubtedly be successful.” That said, while your next job may not be the one that you really wanted, simply having a job is what matters in uncertain financial times.

Until next time….

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting!!!!!!!!!!!

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Peggy McKee, the medical sales recruiter, offers some words of wisdom and advice on finding a job in today’s challenging job market. Read and learn….Hat tip to Peggy for the insights!

We’re in some tough economic times right now, and that can make it that much harder to find a job.  To help you out, Fortune magazine has 7 tips for job hunting in a tougher market.  They include:

1.  Request more face-to-face meetings.  Get your face in front of recruiters and your network instead of relying on e-mails and phone calls.  It will make more of an impression. 

2.  Step up your job-search activity.  This makes sense.  In many ways, a job search (like sales calls) is a numbers game.  Increase your odds by increasing your activity.

3.  Try to be as flexible as you can.  Consider contract work, part-time work, or starting at a lesser salary than you were hoping for.  It gets your foot in the door for other opportunities later.  Besides, less money is better than no money, right?

4.  Consider relocating.  Top jobs aren’t always where you are.  I love the idea of relocating and expanding your horizons…trying something new. 

5.  Scour the hidden job market.  Many jobs aren’t advertised.  Be proactive.  Use your network.  Or contact employers directly.  They might appreciate your initiative.

6.  Spend very little of your time on Internet job boards and help-wanted ads.  Look, but don’t focus.  Everyone’s looking here. 

7.  Take advantage of social networking sites.  Personally, I love LinkedIn.  But also, use MySpace or Facebook as part of your networking tactics.  Just be careful to keep it professional. 

Here are some more great tips to heat up your job search.  One last great idea (from the Sales Hub):   

You never know when or where you may meet a prospective employer. Memory sticks, flash-drives, or email versions of your resume on your Blackberry, Treo or iPhone are must-haves in today’s volatile employment market.

Until next time,

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting!!!!!!!!!!

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