In almost any career or industry, having a blog can both help you find a job and keep you moving forward in your career. You can make connections, show off your skills, and stand out to employers. The best part: it’s pretty easy to do!
Here are our four reasons you should be blogging:
1. Show over tell
Anyone can say they are knowledgeable about a subject. But with a blog, you can show you are. Focus your blog to mostly posts related to your industry or expertise. Discuss what you think of current events, trends, or other developments to show your style of thinking. This way, in an interview when an employer asks about your expertise, you can direct them to your blog to back up what ever you say.
2. Make connections
The thing about blogs is, people read them. Put your blog out where you can, not only on your own sites, but in forums, commenting on other blogs with a link back to yours, etc. Some people may become particularly interested in you and wish to connect with you. So for this reason, it’s also a good idea to have links to your personal social media pages in your blog bio.
3. Stand out to employers
If you’re seeking a job that many other candidates are also seeking, having a good blog will make you stand out. It shows the ability to be creative and shows off your writing style, on top of proving you’re knowledgeable on the subject.
In addition, just the act of maintaining a blog and posting consistently shows commitment and motivation to work on your projects. Keeping a blog could be the differentiating factor between you and another blog-less candidate.
4. Keep up with your skills
Maintaining a blog means you’ll have to keep up with the news in your industry, which is great for both job seekers and professionals. You might also find you need to do a little research to back up an opinion you have in a blog, which will also keep you engaged in the industry and maybe spark some new project idea.
You’ll also be working on writing skills – which are important no matter what your job is. Whether you’re writing reports, presentations, resumes and cover letters, or even just emails, writing skills are highly valuable. Writing a blog keeps your writing skills sharp, while also showing an employer your writing ability and style.
Now that you have a reason to blog, setting up your own is easy – websites like Blogspot, Blogger, or WordPress require no knowledge of code to set up and maintain. It will take a little bit of your time to maintain and write content, but in the end it will be well worth it. Just make sure to stick to what you know, and keep your blog focused on one topic.
Do you keep a blog? Has it helped you professionally? Let us know in the comments!
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{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
I’d like to emphasize the importance of focusing on one topic. This allows readers to use your site as a reference for a specific area. You also demonstrate you are disciplined at what you do. Writing off topic, as well as posting pictures that aren’t related, might actually be a reason why a hiring manager screens you out. We recently posted a guide that discuses this, as well as other tips to maintain a blog that can help you get hired. – Erich
Great point, Erich! It is very important to focus on one topic.
Thanks for your comment!
-Samantha