The job search meets the tweet on Tuesday when social networking's Twitter hosts its first-ever American Jobs Conference.

Twitter's "TweetMyJobs" platform is bringing together job seekers, business leaders, corporate recruiters and employment experts for a daylong online conversation.

Sessions will be held Tuesday on such topics as job search technology, "personal branding" and job hunting for new grads, as well as career changes for midlevel managers and executives.

The tweet conference is from 9 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. local time. The hashtag is #jobs4US.

Individual hashtags will also be issued for each session during the conference.

"The goal is to open up a dialogue on employment. We'll have business, government, tech, social media and recruiting (all) in one forum to dialogue with job seekers," said TweetMyJobs spokeswoman Kat Garcia.

With the nation's jobless rate at 9.2 percent, "it's time for something like this to come together," Garcia said.

The agenda includes a mix of pre-selected questions and live tweets, as well as a tweet panel of employment experts and several so-called "career chats" that focus on how job seekers can use social media to improve their job searches.

Participants can vote on which questions they want answered.

Those who do not have a Twitter account established can participate online at conference.tweetmyjobs.com

Garcia said social media are increasingly important tools that can set job seekers apart.

An annual survey released last week by social recruiting site Jobvite.com found that 89 percent of U.S. companies planned to recruit using social media, up six points from last year.

The survey also reported that about two-thirds of employers who responded had hired employees through social networks in 2011.

"There clearly needs to be more direct connection with employers," Garcia said. "You have to expand your network base and convince recruiters that you're right for the job."

For more information and to register, visit conference.tweetmyjobs.com.

Career fair spotlights diversity

Human resources professionals will meet for a 9 a.m. roundtable Wednesday at McClellan Park in North Highlands on the role of workplace diversity.

Following the roundtable, the Diversity Employment Day Career Fair will be held from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Panelists include human resources experts from industries such as health care, manufacturing and media.

The 9 a.m. panel at McClellan Park's Lions Gate Hotel, 3410 Westover St., is hosted by University of Phoenix and the Sacramento Human Resource Association.

Sponsored by City Career Fair, the free event features employers such as Verizon Wireless, Delta Dental of California, Sutter Health, Walgreens and Vision Service Plan, as well as representatives from state and local agencies.

For more details or to register, call (562) 409-0056 or go to www.citycareerfair.com.

Job tips welcome

We want to hear from you.

Is your company hiring? Is your organization hosting a career fair? Is your campus rolling out a job skills program? Contact Job Front at dvsmith@sacbee.com.

© Copyright The Sacramento Bee. All rights reserved.

---

Call The Bee's Darrell Smith, (916) 321-1040.

• Read more articles by Darrell Smith