Do you know how to Twitter? Are you LinkedIn?

The days of pouring over the classified ads in the Sunday paper and mailing résumés to prospective employers are long gone. Today, recruiters are turning to technology to find who they want. Gary Hansen of Inspired Calling says if you’re looking for work, you should educate yourself in new technology. Here are some of his comments and insights:

“People who have been either out of the job market for a long time or been in job where they have not had to keep up with technology changes are finding that it’s a shocking, new world out there. It’s a totally different process, a totally different mentality. . . .

“Most people need to realize, especially if they’re over 40, that the recruiters for many of these large corporations are 25-35. These are the people you have to impress with your skills, and they’re going to want to talk about text skills. They’re going to want to know about computer skills. They’re also going to want to know about the new world of social networking. I just read an article in USA Today about how college recruiters are now Twittering candidates. And so it’s no longer texting. We’re past texting now; that’s the old technology. Now we’re into Twittering.

“[Another article] is called ‘Lose the Frump Factor,’ about grooming and dress and clothes and how to basically look professional when you go to an interview. [And another] article, interestingly enough, is called ‘Take Ten Years Off Your Image.’ It’s talking about people who are over 40 and what they can do to be perceived as ten years younger. . . .

“You kinda need to go back to school. I mean, you need to find some people who can teach you how to do some of these basic things, and if you don’t know how to text and you own a cell phone, you need to learn how to text. If you know how to get on the Internet, make sure you know how to use Google or Wikipedia. What I’m finding is that we’re never too old to change or never too old to learn new skills, so if you haven’t been doing those things, you need to catch up. It means you’re a little bit behind the curve.”

— Sherri Langton