Who’s that guy Tweeting and Facebooking for CareerBuilder?

If you follow us on Twitter, and you should because our account is awesome, you’ve been reading my Tweets, whether they were links to advice and articles or my ridiculous musings. I was the primary voice behind the account since we opened it in 2009 and you (unfortunately) had to see my bearded mug once we added my profile picture last year. (Again, I apologize for the therapy you’ll have to undergo to forget that image.) I’ve had the pleasure of interacting with a lot of you — giving advice, virtual high-fives and helping you out when you’ve hit snafus in your job search.

Today, I’m passing the Twitter torch to Justin Thompson, our new social media guy who will also be manning the Facebook account and contributing to our trusty blog, The Work Buzz. I chatted with him a bit about his new role and why we’re now giving even more attention to our fans through our social media channels.

What’s your typical day at CareerBuilder?
In essence, I chat with our fans and followers all day long. My goal is to provide them with information to help them find a job or advance their career, no matter where they are in their life. And hopefully I can do that with a little bit of humor and levity.

How would you describe the culture of CareerBuilder in 10 words or less?
Gregarious, innovative and structured chaos.

What’s the most exciting part about your new role?
The moment I went, “I have this idea” and someone said “Sure, go for it. See what happens.” The freedom is amazing. Also, having direct access to our customers and getting their feedback daily is great.

What’s one thing you want people to know about CareerBuilder?
We want to help people – whether they are looking for jobs or trying to fill jobs. If we can make the process easier for everyone, then I think we’re successful.

How do you see CareerBuilder changing as recruitment changes?
We’re going to evolve as job seekers begin diversifying the ways they look for jobs, especially in social and emerging media. As job seekers evolve, we’ll continue to help bridge the gap between them and their ideal careers, helping companies understand how these new channels become an ingredient to their talent acquisition.

Why do you think social media is a good way for job seekers and CareerBuilder to connect?
Social media allows us to get instantaneous feedback from our customers and allows us to continue the conversation with them outside of them just uploading their resume and applying. We basically want to be there with advice and words of encouragement throughout their entire process and hope that once they nail that interview or get hired, they loop us back in and share their success story with other people who are still in the process of finding the right position.

Now let’s get down to some really serious questions:

What was your most memorable job before coming to work at CareerBuilder?
I was a Ronald McDonald handler. Yes, I was a talent agent for the famous clown himself.

What was your first job and what’s one thing you learned during that time?
My first job was as a sandwich artiste at Subway. I learned that even when making sandwiches, you can always bring a certain panache to your work.

What’s your favorite word that’s not really a word?
Blerg. Or Frak.

Who’s your favorite Tweeter?
Cher, only because she’s the most ham-fisted Tweeter on the entire platform and her tweets usually make no sense.

Who’s your least favorite celebrity and why?
Any Kardashian and that’s because they do nothing to deserve attention.

Kindle, iPad, or actual books?
Real books because I find my likelihood of being mugged for a hardcover edition of The Hunger Games to be quite slim.

What’s something that many of your peers may not know about you?
I earned my black belt in karate.

If I gave you $20, what would you spend it on?
Frozen yogurt, cupcakes and gummie bears.

One thing that really scares you?
Madonna’s arms.

What reality show (past or present) does your daily life most resemble?
My life is a little bit of ‘The Simple Life’ meets ‘The Real Housewives of Atlanta.’

If you had to give up one, which would it be: TV, iPod, or phone?
I would give up TV first. I cannot live without my music and my phone would be my key to communicating with the people that are important to me. If I’m unaware of what is happening on Glee, I’m pretty sure my life is better off.

As Justin takes over the social media channels, I’ll continue to contribute to The Work Buzz and be involved in all of our job-seeker content, ranging from advice articles to ebooks to  #cbjobchats to CareerBuilder’s Annual Dance Off*. [Note: CareerBuilder’s Annual Dance Off is not actually a thing, but if it ever is I will let you know.]  So I might not be Tweeting with you as much but I’ll still be listening to what you have to say and relying on you for story ideas and insightful questions.

Plus, Justin sits only a few feet away from me, so if he fails to deliver the award-winning social media news and entertainment you’ve come to expect from us, I’ll throw my iPod at him. [Note: Our Twitter and Facebook accounts have never won any awards, despite the many cookie bouquets I’ve sent to the Pulitzer committee.] But that probably won’t be necessary. Probably.