Blog Your Way into a Career

Consider the following scenario: Two candidates are in the running for the same job. They have similar qualifications and experience. Their personal interview scores are on par too. The one thing that the winning candidate does that the other doesn’t is to direct the interviewer to her professional blog. The interviewer sees that the interviewee knows what she’s doing, is enthusiastic enough to write about her field, and means business. The candidate with the blog gets hired on the spot!

Okay, so the above example was a simplified version of what really happens in a job interview. But you get the point -- a good, professional blog can be a great career-booster. In the competitive world of today, you can leverage your blog to showcase both your talent and your experience.

What kind of a blog works best?

The early years of mainstream blogging, circa 2004, was the time when personal blogs with a lot of navel-gazing, self-indulgent posts were all the rage (and umm, many of us have been there!). Today, when every teen and their mother knows about and does blogging, blogs with TMI or too much (personal) information are passé, and worse, can make you look like an amateur. Travel blogs (for say, if you want to become a travel writer) can be an exception here, since a good travel article is one where the writer recreates her own experience for the reader, adding details to make it come alive.

So, a good career blog needs to be information-packed and industry-focused, offering a fresh and relevant perspective with original content.

How do you stay fresh, relevant and original when sites like Wikipedia already offer almost everything that needs to be known, you ask? Well, here’s where using a personal touch helps. Delve into your background and mine your experience and you’re sure to bring something fresh to the table that no one else can.While a personal touch is necessary to help readers connect with you, avoid irrelevant personal details.

How to start a professional career blog?

1) Make a list of the kind of industry-related topics you want to write about. Coming up with the list will force you to think deeper, and streamline/clarify your thoughts.

2) Create a goalsheet for the blog. Write down what you hope to achieve with it. Are you at the mid- to higher level period in your career? You’ll want to be seen as an expert then. Fortunately, you have a lot of experience to fall back upon when thinking of examples, case studies or tips. If you are a newbie, you’ll want to read up more and connect with the experts in your field. It’s still possible for you to be seen as an expert yourself, but this will happen over a period of time, after you’ve proven yourself as someone having well-considered opinions.

3) Use social media platforms such as Twitter and LinkedIn to share your posts.

4) Register you blog in your domain name if possible. Employers search the net and social networking sites to get more information on you. A nice, smart blog with your name on it is bound to boost chances of getting that job. Also, blogging under your own name will make you more accountable (since anything you write will be directly associated with you) and hence more accurate.

How a blog can boost your career?

Are you convinced yet? Here’s how a blog will help your career:

Be seen as an opinion maker: A blog can set you apart as an expert or an opinion-maker in your chosen field. Whether you’re an educationist, a journalist or a creative person, a blog can be a medium to share your (well-considered) ideas with the world.

Switch careers smoothly: You’re a software engineer who’s secretly always wanted to write about cricket. A well-maintained blog where you track stats and trends in the sport or profile cricketers could be just the ticket to make that career change.

Develop your skills: Often, writing a blog post will clarify a few concepts on a related topic for you. This kind of skill-building is invaluable in the long run. 

Connect with people in the industry: Meeting people in the industry, online and offline, is a great way to stay well-informed and well-connected. This kind of networking opens up opportunities like new jobs, tips for career building, pitfalls to avoid etc.

Get an online mentor: Often, connecting online with an experienced industry professional via your blog can serve the same purpose as having a mentor in real life. You can exchange notes, strike up a rapport and get some guidance along the line as well.

Happy blogging!