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15 Career Pros Boomers Should Follow on Twitter

Keeping up with professional tweets can help you find your next job, keep your current one or switch fields

By Nancy Collamer

Whether you’re looking for a job, pondering a second-act career or simply want to stay up to date on industry trends, if you’re not on Twitter, you’re missing out.
 
In truth, like many fiftysomethings, it took me awhile to warm up to Twitter. When I first heard about the online and mobile social networking service, I thought it sounded downright silly. But now that I’ve been using Twitter for nearly two years, I’m singing (tweeting?) a different tune.
 
Twitter, I've learned, provides a powerful, quick way to get the latest career information: job posting alerts, recommendations of helpful books, links to industry conferences, the skinny on potential employers and much more. It also lets you build relationships with industry experts, recruiters and others who could boost your career.

(MORE: Buffett and Bill Clinton Are Now on Twitter: Why Not You?)
 
But the key is to follow really good Twitter feeds — people, organizations, firms and publications who tweet quality content consistently.
 
In a minute, I’ll share 15 of my favorites. First, though, a few tips on how you can find Twitter feeds that suit your particular needs and interests.
 
Take a look at the suggestions Twitter automatically gives you based on the profile you created and follow the social network’s prompt to search your email contacts for people you already know on Twitter.

(MORE: 3 Social Media Tips to Help Women's Careers)
 
It’s also smart to check the online Twitter directories, like Twellow.com and WeFollow.com, which let you search Twitter feeds by category and topic. For more tips, read Hannah Morgan’s excellent article, “How to Find People to Follow on Twitter.”
 
Here are 15 of my favorite career-related Twitter feeds. I’ve also put the list and several others on my Twitter page.
 
1. Phyllis Mufson (@PhyllisMufson) Mufson is a life coach and career consultant who has established herself as one of the most active tweeters in the career space. She has a bent toward job search and career reinvention articles specific to the 50-plus set.
 
2. Mary Eileen Williams (@FeistySide50) The founder of the job-search advice site for boomer women, FeistySideof50.com, and author of Land the Job You Love: 10 Surefire Strategies for Jobseekers Over 50, Williams’s tweets offer tips for older job hunters.
 
3. Susan Joyce (@JobHuntOrg and @WorkCoachCafe) In addition to tweeting links to articles from her sites Job-Hunt.org and WorkCoachCafe.com, Joyce avidly passes along career tips from other sites and publications. A veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps, she also tweets about the military-to-civilian transition and job hunt.
 
(MORE: 7 Keys to a Successful Job Search)

4. Hannah Morgan (@careersherpa) A job-search and social media strategist, the prolific Morgan always has smart advice on how to leverage social networks, including Twitter.
 
5. Scott Eblin (@ScottEblin) An executive career coach and author of The Next Level, Eblin’s the go-to guy for tweets on executive leadership and career management. I’ve known him for years and he always has something interesting to share.
 
6. Melinda Emerson (@SmallBizLady) The author of Become Your Own Boss in 12 Months, Emerson tweets about business start-ups, social media and small business development.
 
7. AARP (@LifeReimagined) The Twitter feed of AARP’s recently reinvented career site, LifeReimagined.aarp.org, provides fresh and timely employment advice for people over 50, as well as second-act profiles.
 
8. Entrepreneur (@EntMagazine) The Twitter feed from Entrepreneur magazine always has excellent ideas and resources for people interested in starting a business or buying a franchise.
 
9. FlexJobs (@flexjobs) Flex Jobs is a great job board that posts flexible work arrangements. Its Twitter feed includes job alerts, links to articles on freelancing and advice about securing flexible work opportunities.
 
10. Huff/Post 50 (@huffpost50) I always enjoy the Huff/Post 50 tweets, which often connect you to second-act stories, job search advice and excellent career pieces the Huffington Post's editors find on other sites.
 
11. LinkedIn (@LinkedIn) No list of who to follow on Twitter for your career would be complete without LinkedIn. Aside from tweeting links to its own extensive collection of articles, LinkedIn’s feed is a great place to learn about mastering, you guessed it, LinkedIn.
 
12. Smart Brief (@SmartBrief) The SmartBrief.com site publishes free industry-specific and career-related daily e-newsletters. Even though I’m an avid reader of its Smart Brief on Your Career newsletter, I always find other great articles on Smart Brief’s Twitter feed. You might also want to follow one of Smart Brief's industry-specific Twitter feeds.
 
13. Harvard Biz Review (@HarvardBiz) You don’t need to be a Harvard alum to benefit from these tweets, which link to the excellent articles on leadership, career management and career reinvention found on the magazine’s blog. (You’ll need to register to access the content).
 
14. Encore.org (@encorecareers) Interested in a second career in the nonprofit sector? Here you’ll find the Encore.org site's reinvention advice, job alerts and interesting news about encore careers combining purpose, passion and a paycheck.
 
15. The Bridgespan Group (@BridgespanGroup) This leading adviser to mission-driven groups and philanthropists tweets great information about jobs, trends and training programs for boomers interested in the nonprofit sector. I especially like seeing Bridgespan’s featured nonprofit job of the day.
 
And of course, don’t forget to follow me @NancyCollamer for tweets about second-act careers and get the latest Next Avenue articles by following @NextAvenue.

Photograph of Nancy Collamer
Nancy Collamer, M.S., is a semi-retirement coach, speaker and author of Second-Act Careers: 50+ Ways to Profit From Your Passions During Semi-Retirement. You can now download her free workbook called 25 Ways to Help You Identify Your Ideal Second Act on her website at MyLifestyleCareer.com (and you'll also receive her free bi-monthly newsletter). Read More
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