Choose Your Twitter Name and Username for Job Searching

By Joshua Waldman from Job Searching with Social Media For Dummies

Your name and username form a title tag on your Twitter profile page; this title tag appears in the Internet browser’s window. Google uses title tags as part of its search algorithm, which is a good reason to use your full name combined with your best keyword when choosing your Twitter name and username.

Because Google indexes Twitter several times an hour, your chances of ranking on Google’s first page for your name and keywords are quite high.

Your name appears only in your Twitter profile, but your username (what you go by on Twitter; also called a handle) is attached to every tweet. Your username is also the domain name for your profile.

When picking a username, remember that its length eats away at your 140-character message. The longer your username is, the less space you have for your messages. If your name is long, consider abbreviating it, or use a keyword or description of your profession in a short and memorable way.

Here are some examples of different name/@username combinations:

Twit Johnson (@TwitJohnson): Your full name for both your name and username. This is the combination I use.
Twit Johnson (@TwitJPMP): Your full name, then your abbreviated name plus a professional keyword. (PMP is a highly coveted project management certification.)
Twit Johnson (@SanFranPMP): Your full name, then an abbreviated, differentiating professional keyword.
San Francisco Project Manager (@TwitJohnson): A differentiating professional keyword, then your full name.

To set your name and username for the first time, simply head to Twitter.com, click on the Sign Up button on the right-hand side of the screen, and fill in the required fields.

If you already have a Twitter account and want to change your username, head to the top-right portion of the page, click on your current username, and then click on Settings. From there, you can make any desired adjustments to your username.

Changing your username often isn’t wise because you want people to instantly recognize you, and your username helps accomplish that. Pick a username you can live with for a while; it’s going to become a strong part of your personal brand.