Twitter is a great way to network with hospitals, staffing agencies, and fellow travelers.

Whether you use it or not, you’ve probably heard what a powerful tool Twitter can be when it comes to boosting your career. Even travel nurses can leverage this micro-blogging platform to expand their professional network and broaden their career horizons.

Onward Healthcare is all about giving you the best resources and information to support your travel nursing goals, so whether you’ve never tweeted before or you’re looking for the best people to follow, this guide will help you network successfully using Twitter.

1) Putting Your Best Profile Forward.

Your Twitter bio and profile are your calling card to the rest of the Twitterverse so it’s important that they share the right info about you. Choose a head shot, preferably one with a smile, as your picture to give your profile a human and approachable quality. If your goal is to connect with other travel nursing professionals and organizations, list your profession and any other industry related interests in your profile to attract like-minded followers.

2) Finding the Best Connections.

With millions of users posting hundreds of thousands of tweets every day, it may seem daunting to find other travel RNs on Twitter, let alone real people that you can connect with professionally. Use hashtags and Twitter’s advanced search options to find other travel nurses based on what they’re tweeting about and where they are located. With a little bit of searching, you’ll find yourself connected with other travel nurses and healthcare professionals whether they are located down the street or across the globe.

3) The Best Ways to Participate.

If you’re brand new to Twitter, you may wonder, “What should I tweet about?” or “How do I get started?” The best way to participate is to share your thoughts, your questions and your ideas. Honest, genuine interaction is highly valued on Twitter so you’ll find the greatest networking success comes from sharing your ideas, asking questions and just being yourself. If you focus most of your comments and questions on topics that affect travel nurses, you’ll find more connections that are relevant to your industry.

4) Your Best Network.

If you’ve been using Twitter for a while, perhaps you’re eager to expand your existing network. Along with the tips above, have you tried providing more value to your followers? By sharing the latest travel nursing industry news and developments, plus your own opinions, you’ll build an excellent professional reputation of being knowledgeable and helpful. A reputation like this will precede you and lead more opportunities to your door.

5) Be the Best Connection.

If you want to get the  most out of your network and your networking efforts on Twitter, give match-making a try. No, not the romantic kind. When you find an opportunity that might not be perfect for you, but is ideal for a fellow travel nurse, tell them about it! Both parties involved will remember that you took the time to reach out and make the connection happen and you can’t put a price on professional karma like that.

Twitter is an excellent tool to add to your professional networking strategy. Whether you’re interested in getting started or want to strengthen your connections, just be yourself, offer value to others and you’ll be well on your way to Twitter networking success!