Are You Guilty of These Twitter Recruitment Gaffes?

March 31, 2014 at 3:24 PM by Rob Stevenson

As a savvy, adaptable, modern tech recruiter, you hopefully already have a respectable Twitter presence. Many Recruitment twitter gaffetech candidates use Twitter as an avenue to discuss emerging trends and developments in their respective fields, and in these cases, the microblogging mammoth can be an invaluable tool for candidate research. In addition, Twitter also represents an opportunity for lightweight, unassuming messaging which can get you on the radar of top talent and be the starting point for your professional relationship with them. It's not all rainbow retweets and sunshine favorites, though. If tackled incorrectly, your tweets could do more harm than good. Read on to make sure you're not commiting any Twitter gaffes!

 

1. Follow-to-Follower Ratio

Poor ratio

Having a huge number of Twitter followers is impressive, but well-versed Tweeters are skeptical of anyone who has both an exorbitant number of follows and followers. Many twitter accounts subscribe to a "follow-back" strategy, where they will follow any account who follows them without question. While this will drastically increase your reach, your engagement will suffer as your audience becomes less and less relevant. To keep a good ratio, only follow people who are directly related to your field or fields of interest, or regularly trim the accounts you follow to keep your number down.

 

2. Set Your Boundaries

A carefully timed retweet, favorite, or reply is crucial, but too much interaction will come off as annoying and possibly creepy. I've personally had accounts favorite every single one of my tweets, which both reaks of desperation and suggests a level of disingenuity. Further, know which tweets are appropriate to comment on. A follow-up on an industry related comment or interesting project the candidate is working on is a great opportunity to start a discussion, but don't delve into their personal tweets unless it's an area of shared interest.

 

3. Hold Yourself ACCOUNTable

Personally, I have three different Twitter accounts tied to my mobile device and Tweetdeck. It's a great fear of mine that I'll send a tweet from the wrong account, which will not only appear unprofessional, but also will be iBe careful with multiple accountsrrelevant and without context. Double, triple, and quadruple check when sending tweets to make sure you're sending from the right account. Tweetdeck makes this easy by displaying a highlighted avatar next to the text field, but Twitter's dedicated app doesn't always make it as obvious.

 

 

 

 

4. Do Not Feed the Trolls

warningtrollsCROPPEDEspecially if you are tweeting from a company acccount, you will without question encounter the dreaded, obnoxious, internet troll. When someone reaches out to you with an acerbic or seemingly dumb question, have a look at their account and try to determine whether they are actually being genuine or merely trying to provoke a response from you. No matter what, don't get sucked into laborious arguments, because no matter who wins, your followers lose.

 

 

Well, there you have it recruiting pros. Avoid these don'ts, and you're well on your way to turning your Twitter presence into a respectable source of new candidates. What are some other things to avoid on Twitter? Tweet @EnteloRob or leave a comment!

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