Tweak Twitter Settings for Job Searching

By Joshua Waldman from Job Searching with Social Media For Dummies

Spend time within the Settings panel when you’re using Twitter to help you with your job search. Adjust your profile background, choose one quality link, and manage your notifications. Head over to the triangle drop-down menu next to your username on the top-right corner of the page and click on Settings.

Adjust your Twitter profile background

You can personalize the look of your Twitter account by uploading background images and collages. You want the colors, images, and words you use to be professional and consistent with your personal brand.

Making your Twitter profile background consistent with your personal brand probably requires you to create a custom background instead of selecting one of Twitter’s built-in backgrounds. To do this, go to the Settings page by clicking on the drop-down menu next to your username.

Next, choose the Design tab and then click on Change Background Image at the bottom of the page. There, you can upload an image file (smaller than 800 megabytes).

If you’re savvy with any image-production or graphic-design software and want to build a custom background, check out these Twitter background guidelines.

If you want a simple background that doesn’t involve graphic design, following is a list of free online resources to try out. In most cases when you use these tools, your Twitter background is automatically updated when you finish with a design.

Choose a clickable Twitter profile link

You can share one clickable link in your Twitter profile for people to click on if they want to find out more about you. Choose your LinkedIn profile, another online résumé (like a VisualCV), or your own website or blog. Make sure this link takes people to a location that has more information about your job qualifications.

Manage your Twitter notifications

If you’re not careful with your settings, Twitter can easily overrun your life. To keep Twitter under control, make the following minor tweaks to your Account and Notifications settings in the Settings page:

Don’t let others find you from your e-mail address.
Don’t show photos and videos from everyone.
Don’t protect your tweets; doing so defeats the whole point of networking and building relationships.
Don’t tell Twitter to e-mail you if you get a new follower — unless of course you want to receive tons of pestering e-mails per day.
Don’t tell Twitter to e-mail you if you receive a direct message because DMs can be spammy.