DEAR JOYCE: I'll never see 50 again, but I have to keep working. Updating my job-chase process, I understand that people are starting to use Twitter, a microblogging service, in addition to, or instead of, job boards. Most interesting! I've read that employers like Twitter because it's cheaper than job boards and targets candidates who have social-media skills.

Even if a company is really fishing to hire a 20-something employee, Twitter seems to me to be one of the best ways a 50-something person with a young attitude can crash through the Gray Wall. If you agree, what tips can you offer? -- D.E.

Here's a new tool: Although you can uncover openings on Twitter's own search engine (twitter.com), go shopping on the cutting-edge TwitterJobSearch (twitterjobsearch.com) site. It pulls up tweets that are only job-related and links to the underlying job posting. A product developed in the United Kingdom, TwitterJobSearch ranks by both relevance and by how recently they've been posted.

To compare, search for such jobs as "administrative assistant San Diego" or "software engineer Dallas."

Some employers use Twitter because the response is just enough -- but not overwhelming. But as word gets around, Twitter may join job boards in saturation levels.

In the meantime, stand out by showing you're cool with new technology. In addition to locating job openings, you can tweet your interest and hopefully receive an invitation to a job interview. Your next step might be using the company's tweets to find out what's happening inside (company picnic or holiday party, for instance) and use that information as an interviewing icebreaker.

For more information, browse for an article, "A New Job Just a Tweet Away," by Sarah E. Needleman.

DEAR JOYCE: I'm a high school guidance counselor and still trying to get a handle on green jobs. Help? -- R.A.

This is a two-book answer. The first book is "200 Best Jobs for Renewing America," by Laurence Shatkin (jist.com). Here's Shatkin's list of the 10 best jobs in green technologies and what they pay annually on average: construction managers, $76,230; industrial engineers, $71,430; construction/extraction first-line supervisors, $55,950; environmental scientists/specialists, $58,380; construction instructors, $48,330; environmental engineers, 72,350; plumbers/pipefitters/steamfitters, $44,090; geoscientists (except hydrologists and geographers), $75,800; carpenters, $37,660; electricians, $44,780. Continued...