I know, I know, the title of this blog sounds like one of those advertisement/ scams that you see online all the time. It’s a slightly more modern version of those “work from home and make billions of dollars” scams. However, it seems that using Twitter actually did get one guy a job. Check out this article from MSNBC:
“Who needs a resume? Tweet earned him A job” is the title of this article. It was posted December 11, 2009.
The story is a simple one. BFG Communications wanted to hire someone for a “Social Media” position. Instead of asking people to fill out applications, or send them resumes, BFG went on Twitter, and asked for a tweet. The belief was that people who were already using Twitter would have a more innate grasp of not only what “Social Media” is, but how to use it well.
The guy who got the job was Hal Thomas, who sent BFG a tweet that not only said something positive about BFG, but also linked to his blog, and to a photo of a mock magazine cover he designed. The article goes on to say that this made Mr. Thomas stand out more than the other people who sent tweets to BFG, and so, he got the job.
I both love and hate articles like this one. On the one hand, it’s pretty darn cool that somebody actually got a job at a major company simply by using Twitter. That’s pretty exciting! This article makes me feel like maybe, in the future, the application and interview process involved to get a job will be as simple for everyone as it was in this particular case. Perhaps Twitter could potentially become as valid a way to search for a job as, I don’t know, Craigslist, at least.
On the other hand, I am a realist. The article itself states:
* “Few employers are going to follow BFG’s example.”
This article doesn’t tell me any of the details about the “Social Media” position offered by BFG. I suppose I could do some clicking around and google searching, to see if I can find out more about it. But, I’m not going to bother, and neither are most of the people who read this article. I’d like to believe that this job found through the power of Twitter is a good one, with a decent salary, paid sick days, lots of vacation time, and access to a great health insurance plan. There is no proof of this, however. What if this job is more like one of those unpaid internships? I will never know. I want to believe it’s a “real” job, but, the cynic in me wonders if this might not have been more of a publicity stunt instead.
Before you start sending out tweets to every company you can find on Twitter, keep this important detail in mind: ONE guy got a job this way. One!
Thanks for passing along the story. This was easily the most fun I’ve ever had applying for a job!
If it helps round out the details, I can confirm that the job is in fact “a good one, with a decent salary, paid sick days, lots of vacation time, and access to a great health insurance plan.”
As far as the details go, I spend a lot of my day listening and participating in various social media spaces: Facebook, Twitter, and blogs. I represent several of BFG’s clients in these spaces, creating and maintaining Facebook pages, listening and responding to the conversations that are taking place about those clients, and trying to contribute something of value and a more human touch. I also do a lot blogging for both internal and external BFG clients.
It’s a really fun job, one that often requires me to think 140 characters at a time. I think that was what was so genius about Sloane Kelley asking people to tweet their application–because that is the job. Get noticed, be funny/memorable, and/or contribute something of value in 140 characters or less.
Thanks again for picking up the story.
Hal Thomas,
Very exciting!
Wow! I feel like a celebrity has read my little blog, and left me a comment!
So glad to hear your job is a good one after all. Now that you have explained more, it certainly sounds like fun.
My personal solution to “thinking in 140 characters or less” is to write everything I do on Twitter in the form of haiku. (Well, except for re-tweets). If you want to follow me there, I’m @Queenofhaiku.
I am so happy that your job is a good one! That gives us all hope.
Ha! “Celebrity.” Not hardly.
At most it’s internet fame, which is more like 15 seconds of fame than 15 minutes of fame so you can’t take it too seriously.
I like the idea of writing in haiku; very inventive!
If I’ve inspired hope in anyone then I’m glad my story could be of encouragement. A big key to all of this–job applications, social media, marketing–is to know your audience. Once you know who they are and what is appropriate/acceptable to them, then you can go about the fun business of crafting content that is memorable and worth sharing.