Believe it or not, some people are still purchasing special paper from craft stores and sending their resumes out to employers through the mail. These unfortunate job-seekers are stuck in a world set apart from the instant communication standards most of us have become accustomed to with email and social media. Even those sending their employment history and skillsets out through email are lost in a sea of other applicants in an employer’s inbox.

In order to stand out from the pack, it is important to utilize social media in a way that will capture the attention of those within your industry. According to reports, more corporate recruiters and small business are turning to social media to find potential applicants. Because of the personal nature of social networks, employers get a better feel of who they are actually hiring.

Just like your resume, social media messages should be brief and straight to the point. There is no better social network that forces you to succicently get your point across than Twitter. With its 140 character limit and its popularity with those who have short attention spans, Twitter can give your job search a much needed boost.

By creating a short Twitter resume, you can pack the most important information relevant to your job search into a short and concise message. Think of your “Twesu me” as a beefed up objective section of your actual resume. Say what you want to accomplish, one or two feats of personal accomplishment, and a link in the form of a tiny.url.

Sean Weinberg, COO of RezScore, has recently coined the term “Twesume.” A combination of resume and Twitter, your “Twesume” should play just as vital of a part in your job search as your traditional resume. You can create a pre-written notice to broadcast to several different audiences over the social network:

Use the @ symbol or a DM to send your “Twesume” directly to your perspective employer

Place your “Twesume” in your bio with a link to your own personal webpage included

In order to maintain your reputation protection, make sure your Twitter profile is locked and people can only contact you through DM and not by RT. If you are not careful, your personal information could get sent out to bots who may proliferate your information to telemarketers, spammers, and con-artists.

By searching Twitter and sending out brief responses to job postings you will see increased success and a higher instance of inquiries, phone calls, and job interviews.

This is a Guest Post written by Sam Peters, who frequently writes about career and job related topics.

Photo: Above photograph used under CC license