When  jobseekers hear the word ‘networking’, they envisage a time-consuming, extravaganza of events that will see them endlessly schmoozing an array of strangers; debasing themselves by asking for help, embarrassing the people they speak with by setting the expectation for quick results, and finding themselves becoming the type of fake ‘salesman’ they never wanted to become—just to find a job.

If you think that schmoozing is networking, you’re on the wrong track (and we need to talk!)—but, let’s just focus on breaking it down to something simple so you’re not overwhelmed at first.

Here’s a simple technique that worked really well for one jobseeker using Twitter for job search.

Knowing that most companies have a presence on Twitter (because they want to know what people are saying about them), this jobseeker—we’ll call him Joe, first researched people in his desired industry and field of work and followed them. He listened to what professionals were talking about, contributed where he could, and tweeted ideas and thoughts that those in that industry would find engaging. When he thought the time was right, Joe reached out casually to his community, “Anyone here from @Company-Name? I’m looking for any information I can get, anyone that I can talk to, to pursue a job”.

He received three responses that day—one of them the director of a department. This was followed by a telephone call, emails, and a tour of the company with the hiring manager.

Tweet content can include a link to an article you’ve written, an article you find interesting, or even your Linkedin profile.

Networking doesn’t need to bring you out in a sweat, it doesn’t need to be fake, or even all that hard.

What experiences or successes have you had looking for a job on social media?