Why College Students Should Use Twitter

Since I first started lecturing at colleges about a year ago, I always ask the students if they use Twitter. I continue to be amazed by how few of them raise their hands. In fact, I believe that only about 10% of college students use Twitter. I wrongly assumed that members of Gen Y (The Millennials) would be all over Twitter because it was another social networking website like Facebook and MySpace. However, this was the very reason why they don't use Twitter. They can let their friends and family know what's going on at the top of their Facebook and MySpace pages so Twitter is just redundant to them.

Some people feel that Twitter is all about following celebrities or giving people an opportunity to tell you what they're doing every waking hour. However, it does serve a much more valuable purpose by providing career advice. Yes, providing career advice. If you type in keywords like career advice, resume tips, interview tips, etc., you will find a plethora of information on how to find a job. There are many people on Twitter who not only give career advice (including myself at times-andyteach is my Twitter name), but many people utilize attachments to articles with career tips and job postings.

There are many great tools out there to help you get a job so think of Twitter as just another tool. Give it a try. You don't have to post anything if you don't want to. You can just follow the people who give the best career advice. Continue to use Facebook and MySpace to let your contacts know that you are looking for a job but if you add Twitter to your toolbox, you'll increase your chances of finding a job. Oh yes, while you're on Twitter, if you like to waste some time following celebrities, be my guest, but I don't think they will help you find a job!

Company Layoffs-Just An Excuse to Save Money?

I have many friends who recently joined the ranks of the unemployed. Some of them suspected it was coming but all of them were basically given no notice-they were called into a conference room and told it was their last day. So much for company loyalty.

It got me thinking. Why were they and others let go? I believe there are two reasons. First, when companies need to save money, they terminate higher-level employees who are earning a lot of money. Sometimes the employees have been with their company for 15, 20, or 30 years but company loyalty is irrelevant during tough economic times. Second, company layoffs are used as an excuse for supervisors to get rid of employees they either don't like or who are not doing a good job.

If your company is contemplating layoffs and you are making a lot of money in your position, you may have a difficult time escaping the ax. However, you may be able to prevent the second reason for layoffs if you have a great relationship with your boss and if you do a great job. Notice I said a "great" job, not a "good" job. Put yourself in your supervisor's position. They have to trim their staff so how do they decide? It may very well be based on how much the boss likes you so make sure you have a solid relationship with your boss. If you don't like them, pretend you like them. Constantly communicate with them. As far as the work is concerned, do whatever it takes to get the job done. Volunteer to do things that aren't asked of you. Become a star at work and maybe, just maybe, you can avoid getting the ax.