“Best Thing Ever” – that’s how my new job was described by a friend on Facebook last Friday, when I announced to all and sundry that I had a new job.
And he should know. He’s the guy who got my attention by retweeting the message from my new employer that a post was available. I got my job because I know three or four key people from completely different spheres; yet it’s down to these connections and my own oddball history that I stand here now. Let me explain How Twitter Got Me A Job:
- I joined Twitter because some übergeek friends were raving about it.
- I followed people I knew and was introduced over time to a bunch of people I hadn’t met yet.
- A rather excellent gentleman who plays a lot of bass guitar was stranded by a train not running and said so on Twitter, so being who I am, I drove over gave him a lift home. (NB, This was not heroic, I just hate the thought of a fellow chap being unable to get home to his family, and I could make it happen. No brainer so far as I was concerned.)
- Stuff happened (a couple of years worth)
- Same chap retweets a job advert from my new employer. I phone him to ask how well he knows the firm and how evil they are. Sounds OK, so I apply. (Until yesterday I worked for the local authority for 13 months in a variety of rôles, but all of them temporary.)
- At interview, things do not go so well. My variegated background gives me plenty to draw on, and I have a broad range of skills and competencies, but I walk out thinking it could have gone a lot better.
- I get the job.
- I start today.
… and that is how social media changed my world. Again.
work by Sean MacEntee via Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/smemon/5121772432/
Andrew Clayton 