Did you know you can use Twitter to enhance your job search? That’s right, Twitter! And what’s more, you don’t even need a Twitter account to do it. By now you’re probably thinking, “Okay, he’s lost it. How in the world can a 140 character text message help in my job search.” Stand by. You might be surprised.

Search.Twitter.Com is a direct link to the Twitter search engine. You do not need a Twitter account to use it.  Today, many recruiters and hiring managers tweet about available job openings, sometimes before they are posted to job boards. The tweet usually contains a tiny hyperlink to the actual job description and application process.

For example, go to search.twitter.com and type “IT director jobs” without the quotes in the search criteria textbox. Click the search button and within seconds you’ll return a list of tweets in a results set that matches your search criteria. I performed this search today as I wrote this article and on the first page of results I see a listing for an Assistant Director IT Project Management at Ernst & Young in Cleveland, OH. As you scan the results list, you will literally find pages of job posting tweets containing your search words, many of them just minutes old. The Ernst and Young position was tweeted just 3 minutes before I did the search.

So how do you capitalize from Twitter searches if you find a job posting that interests you? Make sure you say in your cover letter, “I saw your tweet.” Why? Because using Twitter to announce job postings is a bit…let’s say…unconventional? It’s very likely the recruiter or hiring manager who sent the tweet raised a few eyebrows amongst his/her peers when s/he told them what s/he was doing. By saying “I saw your tweet,” you are accomplishing at least two important validation tasks.

First, you’re making the recruiter or hiring manager look good. That person went out on a limb to try something unconventional and it worked. They received responses from qualified candidates for their job posting of which you are one.

Second, you’ve validated the recruiter or hiring manager’s ideas. If for nothing else, you just made that person’s day. You’ve confirmed that their unconventional approach works. How? You’ve applied for the position. By validating them, you’ve probably just moved to the top or near to the top of the list of prospective candidates. Or at the very least, they will certainly take a good, close look at your qualifications.

The news outlets have been reporting that this country has never in history suffered such a deep recession and such a flat recovery. With reported unemployment hovering over 9%, there is a lot of competition to find your next position. Thinking out of the box these days is essential to finding your new role. Be creative and use every tool at your disposal.