My colleague, Sarah Milstein, just wrote a book on Twitter (conveniently called “The Twitter Book”). Before her book came out, I liked to think of Sarah as my own private Twitter tutor. She was the 21st user of the service and tried to get me interested in it back in 2006. I resisted. I couldn’t see why I’d want yet another communication tool in my already over-communicated life. Once I got started though, I had a fairly typical Twitter path, moving from resistance to hooked in a matter of weeks. I recently read that Twitter is a little like coffee. It tastes awful at first, but then suddenly you’re addicted. (Anyone know where I read this so I can give credit?)

I asked Sarah to collaborate with me on a post about five ways to use Twitter in your career. If you’ve never even visited Twitter.com, this is a good primer on how to set up an account and get started. If you’re already on the service, but still don’t really get it, read this.

And now, our five tips: {Read the rest at Yahoo!}

My colleague, Sarah Milstein, just wrote a book on Twitter (conveniently called “The Twitter Book”). Before her book came out, I liked to think of Sarah as my own private Twitter tutor. She was the 21st user of the service and tried to get me interested in it back in 2006. I resisted. I couldn’t see why I’d want yet another communication tool in my already over-communicated life. Once I got started though, I had a fairly typical Twitter path, moving from resistance to hooked in a matter of weeks. I recently read that Twitter is a little like coffee. It tastes awful at first, but then suddenly you’re addicted. (Anyone know where I read this so I can give credit?)

I asked Sarah to collaborate with me on a post about five ways to use Twitter in your career. If you’ve never even visited Twitter.com, this is a good primer on how to set up an account and get started. If you’re already on the service, but still don’t really get it, read this.

And now, our five tips:

Keep up with industry news. Follow thought leaders and/or people who post links to new ideas in your field. To find people in your sector, try tools like MrTweet.com and wefollow.com, which organize Twitter users by category. Once you’ve followed a few smart, relevant people, you’ll have created a customized news feed of headlines that interest you. {Read the rest at Yahoo!}

Now that so much of the job search process happens online, the most common complaint I hear about is the “black hole” — that mysterious place to which resumes seem to travel from the moment an applicant hits the “send” key. If you’re involved in a job search where you feel like you repeatedly send out resumes in response to ads and rarely hear back, then it might be time for some new online search techniques. Try these 5 tricks to shake things up:

Answer questions on Linkedin
Your strongest chance of being hired is to find ways to show off your expertise and build relationships in your field. One easy way to do this is to troll the “Answers” section on LinkedIn and start responding to questions where you think you can be helpful. People whose answers get high ratings show up on a list of experts. Nabbing one of those spots is a terrific way to ensure that people using the site to fill a position will find your profile. {Read the rest at Yahoo!}

We all know that most jobs come through unofficial channels — introductions from friends or colleagues, poaching from other employers, old boys’ and new girls’ networks. I’m proof that many interviews take place when you don’t even know you’re being interviewed. {Read the rest on Yahoo!}

Last week, I had yet another coffee date with an acquaintance who was recently laid off. Before we met, I thought a lot about how I could be helpful to him without offering tired cliches like “It will all work out for the best.” Less than a year ago, I lost what I had thought was a dream gig — writing a regular column and blog for The New York Times. As I prepped for my meeting, I tried to remember how I was feeling during that time and which people made me feel good and which made me want to clock them. Here’s what I came up with.

When you reach out to someone who’s recently been laid off, keep in mind that layoffs hit people differently. The good news is that there’s little shame in being out of work today. Still, for almost anyone who has been laid off, it is a sensitive time; emotions can be unpredictable. So try to be gentle. Especially if you’re a member of the family. What might be considered a polite observation by a friend could easily be interpreted as offensive meddling by a mother, sister, or in-law. And now, a few specific tips: {Read the rest at Yahoo!}

There is a natural tendency to want to hire someone who is already working, but in this economy, how do you convince those who you want to hire you that you are already doing what they want you to do?

When I decided I wanted to be a writing coach, I did two simple things. I added a “slash” to my business card (writer/speaker/writing coach) and to the signature line of my email address. Before I had even figured out the details of my coaching business — what I’d charge, where I’d meet with clients — people started asking me about my services. Within a couple of months, my coaching practice was off the ground.

The business card and email signature work well if you’re consulting or freelancing, but if you are looking for a full-time job, you’ll need to use different techniques. Here are some other ideas: {Read the rest at Yahoo!}

Graduation speeches are long on lofty advice, cliches that ring true, and humor: follow your dreams, be authentic, wear sunscreen. But they are often short on career advice. So now that we’ve all watched videos of the best of the lot on YouTube and shared them by email or on Facebook, it’s time to get down to what new grads need to know about how to get a job and build a career. And since 50-somethings and 20-somethings are likely to be competing in today’s market, most of these principles make sense for the rest of us as well.

{Read the rest at Yahoo!}

A few days ago, I got an email from a friend — yet another — who told me that he had just been laid off from his journalism job. The job losses in our field are so huge that there is at least one website entirely devoted to tracking the loss of journalism jobs day by day.

My friend wrote that he wished he had done some planning before the ax had fallen, and he is not the only one feeling that way. Many people are in situations where they know layoffs are a possibility, yet they do little to prepare themselves.

Here’s a few suggestions I would have given to my friend had he called me before he got his official notice. But it’s not too late. These things still make sense once a layoff is official. {Read the rest at Yahoo!}

Recently I went to a conference without any business cards. When people asked me about it, I said I was “going green” and saving paper, but in truth, I just forgot. I know. That’s a weird move for a career columnist. But in my case, business cards don’t serve much use anymore. I have a website and email address so easy to remember that if anyone wants to find me, all they need to do is remember to spell Marci with an “i” not a “y.” And you can find me on pretty much any social network.

That said, I’m in the minority on this one. As I quickly learned when I wondered aloud on Twitter whether people still care about business cards now that so much of our contact information is posted online. Moments after my tweet, I was barraged with messages from people who are still clinging closely to their business cards. Job hunters need them. Those seeking clients need them. And if you’re dealing with people from other cultures, proper business cards are expected. {Read the rest at Yahoo!}

At a time when nearly all of us are scrambling for opportunities and helping others to do the same, people are in networking overdrive. Not a day goes by that I don’t get a few emails from friends seeking introductions to other friends. All that connecting carries a huge risk of mistakes and missteps. Here’s just a sampling of the many ways that well-intentioned attempts at networking can go wrong, and some simple ways to do better.

1.  Asking for an introduction when you are too busy to properly follow up. We’ve all been there. You learn that someone you know knows someone you want to know and you are champing at the bit. You shoot off an email without much deliberation, the person replies promptly (since you have a mutual contact), and because you’re completely swamped, you find it impossible to make time to meet.

Solution: Next time you learn that one of your contacts knows someone you want to know, file that information away and tell your friend you might ask for an intro when you’re less busy. {Read the rest at Yahoo!}