While there seem to be plenty of jobs around at the moment, competition is still pretty fierce. Certainly, if you work in a specialised industry, you need to do everything you can to improve your prospects.
One option is to create your own online brand and blog about something important to your sector or career area. While it takes a lot of work and thought, the pay-off can be pretty big if it enables you to land that important interview.
The Benefits of Blogging
- It allows you to showcase more of yourself to prospective employers. You’re not just a few titles and bullet points on an application form or CV. You can use your blog to flesh out the bone, so to speak.
- Blogging in today’s world of jobs is a good career skill to have. It also shows you are able to work independently on a project and make something of it.
- If you work in a specific industry, blogging allows you to highlight your expertise and what you know as well as your opinions.
- Do it well enough and you can potentially attract the right employer with the perfect job for you without even having to apply.
- More and more employers, in practically every industry, nowadays take a look online to see what kind of profile you have. Of course, there’s social media to check out but if your blog comes up on Google searches it adds another dimension to your application.
- You can blog anytime, anywhere and build a list of posts that improve your visibility over time.
Where Should You Blog?
There are several different places you can choose to blog on a regular basis. The first is to start a free blog with either WordPress or Blogger. If you want a personalised site with a dedicated URL, you can opt to buy a subscription to post your articles. You can also use a platform like LinkedIn to post blogs if you want to keep your articles close to your online CV.
How Often Should You Post?
Look to post at least once a week to build up a decent level of articles that are actually going to catch the attention of a potential employer.
Should You Be Controversial?
It depends what you mean by controversial. There’s no problem with presenting your opinion on a particular subject but it can backfire if you get things wrong. Over the top commentary or way out views can turn prospective employers off, especially if your ideas don’t match theirs. When in doubt, keep it neutral.
Blogging Tips for Beginners
If you’ve never blogged before, and want to create a list of articles that employers are going to look at and then invite you for an interview, there are some basic dos and don’ts you should be aware of:
- Do post regularly and build a readership. Link into your social media accounts and engage with anyone who leaves a comment.
- Don’t post if you have nothing to say. The best way to keep content going is to build a blogging list that you can call on when you need to write something. Blogging for the sake of blogging usually leads to substandard content.
- Do always, always check your grammar and spelling. It’s best to leave posts a while before you upload them and then edit to make sure they don’t have any errors.
- Do focus on one subject area if you can. If you’re a digital marketer, for example, you have plenty of scope to discuss everything from SEO to the latest advances in VR.
- Don’t cut and paste. It’s bad form if you plagiarise content from other sites just to fill up yours. It’s something employers may well check and that won’t do your reputation any good at all.
In conclusion
Whether you’re aspiring to become a freelance writer or seeking new job opportunities in Brighton and Hove, don’t miss this insightful post!
Embrace the power of blogging to elevate your career prospects and open doors to exciting possibilities.