How long is the job search? 27 weeks, says the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)! Is there a shortcut? One jobseeker found it ... in the form of Twitter.

Stephen Moyer, one of the 13 jobseekers featured in The Twitter Job Search Guide (JIST, 2010) authored by Chandlee Bryan (@chandlee), Deb Dib (@CEOCoach), and myself (@SusanWhitcomb), is a stellar case study on how Twitter can work wonders in a job search.

As Chandlee likes to say, when it comes to networking, "Twitter is the barrier buster!" Unlike LinkedIn or Facebook, there are no approvals when it comes to connecting with (or "following") others. So whom did Stephen follow? People in the industry he wanted to be in. Here are some excerpts of my interview with Stephen (@Stephen_Moyer).

"When I first started on Twitter I was doing an internship with a logistics company and was interested in getting into recruiting and HR, so I went looking through some of my followers and noticed Karla Porter (@Karla_Porter). When I saw her profile, she said she was interested in 'all things recruiting' so I thought 'maybe I'll contact her through Twitter.' I sent her an @ message asking if she could help me out and answer questions. Within 15 minutes she sent me her phone number and said 'call.'

"I told her I was doing my internship and it turns out she knew my supervisor at the logistics company. A couple of days later, I got a message from Karla saying she talked to my supervisor, who gave me stellar reviews, and wondered if I'd like to come down and do an internship with her.
"During that time, Karla was mentioning me on Twitter as the 'infamous intern,' commending everything I'd done for her, and people started to notice. Karla had a request to have me join her on a blog talk radio program she was going to be on to answer some questions about etiquette on Twitter. During that process, a couple of people on the radio show asked me if I'd be able to help them out with their blog talk radio shows, including Paul Paris' the Ex-recruiter show and the Bill Boorman show. Bill Boorman gave me 10 minutes at the end of his show to discuss why I wanted to be a recruiter and he allowed other recruiters on the show to give me guidance and free mentoring.

"I got tips from another recruiter, Animal, on how to develop my profile and how to make it more recruiter friendly since recruiting is what I wanted to do. I also followed up using different LinkedIn contacts. I connected with people in the U.S. and Canada who gave me some valuable insights on an interview that was coming up.

"Twitter has been indispensable in my job search. I would never have received the multiple interview opportunities (and offers) without being out there and active on Twitter."
To summarize it, here's how Stephen shortened his search. He ...

• Shifted his tweet strategy from social (and started using Facebook for his social interactions) to more professional, interacting not just with friends but people in his target industry.
• Used Twitter to create opportunities for voice-to-voice and face-to-face contacts ... and even picked up the phone first in some instances (revolutionary!)
• Engaged his Twitter community with @ messages (writing directly to someone on Twitter while allowing others to see the message) and conversations.
• Became a real person, not just another Twitter handle, which caused others to know, like, and recommend him (Karla_Porter).
• Used an integrated approach (LinkedIn, Twitter, as well as phone contacts, radio shows, etc.)
• Asked for advice (and listened to it!)
• Followed up, followed up, followed up!

Bottom line. Instead of the typical 27-week job search timeline, Stephen landed a new opportunity in just 10
weeks. Applause, applause, Stephen!

So join the conversation! What else have you seen work when it comes to Twitter and the job search?