I'm aware of the the likes of Guru.com and GetACoder.com, but these tend (don't they?) to be short term contracts, whereas my type of work (database admin and support, data analysis) often requires longer term commitment. My last few contracts were extended, so I'm confident I can adapt and add value to any company that hires me. However in the current climate I'm finding it very hard to get past the gatekeepers (ie agencies and/or HR departments). The avenues that seemed to work in the past eg jobserve, Monster etc. don't seem to be as effective now. Apart from LinkedIn, can anyone recommend other ways of self-publicising? So far I've looked into contributing to technical forums and maintaining blogs (well, I'm working on these). Any additional ideas will be very welcome (I'm based in the UK).
+3
A:
Twitter is hugely useful. I have hired a number of people that I found on Twitter. Start following people in your geographical area, in your field, talk about projects you are doing or are things you are learning about. It takes time, but you can probably establish yourself as having credibility in as little as 3-8 weeks if you work at it.
(It is easy to write off Twitter as a waste of time--and if all you are doing is posting your breakfast, it is. Like many things, what you get out of it is related to what you put in.)
Mitch Haile
2009-07-11 11:01:09
Very interesting. I'd virtually written off Twitter as being another time intensive utility, yet hadn't thought of the recruitment possibilities. Many thanks.
DBMarcos99
2009-07-11 11:06:18
+1
A:
As mentioned, twitter is a great tool. It's great that it will aggregate any activity you do, so you could:
- write a blog
- be active on stackoverflow
- participate on an open source project (open issues for example)
- read books in your field
- find good articles
and you can mention all these to your twitter account.
Mercer Traieste
2009-07-11 11:07:00