Blogging is good for your career. A well-executed blog sets you apart as an expert in your field and can lead to a myriad of career opportunities.Employers regularly Google prospective employees to learn more about them. Blogging gives you a way to control what employers see, because Google's system works in such a way that blogs that are heavily networked with others come up high in Google searches.
Online writing can help your career in several ways:
- Blogging increases your network. People take notice and want to know more about you.
- Blogging can get you a job. It gives you more visibility and allows you to put your best foot forward.
- Blogging can help you to move up quickly if you establish yourself as an expert on a specific topic. Posting regularly is important.
- Blogging makes self-employment easier. To make it on your own, you have to be good at selling yourself.
- Blogging could lead to your big break. This is especially true for visually creative types. I've come across some great cartoon, photography, and graphic art blogs. I also know some artistic types who write eloquently and punch up their posts with colorful design.
- Blogging can lead to new conversations with people you might not otherwise meet. Through the blogosphere, I have connected with intriguing people on several continents, including North America, Central America, Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia. Each encounter leads to personal and/or professional growth. On our sites or offline, my blogging buddies and I quickly find common ground.
Good blogging requires commitment and hard work. The payoff, however, can be huge!
Tags: Blogging, Careers, Public Relations, PR, Business, Media by Sistrunk
9 comments:
I agree. Blogging is doing all this and more.
Shi: You are well known for your blogging expertise. I'm sure you could add quite a bit to this.
Ya, I was hired after my employer read my blog for two hours while I sat in front of him. This was in 2004.
Blogs let you say what you want to. They allow you to show yourself the way you want to.
And what is more, you can earn while doing all this.
Shi: You have also mentored many bloggers over the years, including yours truly. This outreach has earned you the title of Blogging Guru!
Deb, you've done great at showing all the business benefits blogging has. But as people are quick at getting excited and forgetting other aspects, I'd like to point out that because blogging does all this it should come with a generous dose of precaution. Everything you post is out there, so whenever you want to hit that publish button, think of the future partners, friends, employers and in laws that are google savvy :)
Alina: You make a very important point. I've had this discussion recently with other bloggers.
Everything that you post is "out there," even your comments on other blogs. Anyone who is writing for career reasons has to be cautious of language and how much they reveal about their personal lives and views.
A professional blog is not the place for rude language, rants about love gone wrong, or how you got wasted last night at the club.
Some of the most creative blogs I've seen are not on my blogroll because of the regular use of explicit language.
That said, you do want your blog to reflect your personality. You just want to put your best foot forward, as you would in any interview with a perspective employer or client.
Thanks for making this very important point.
BTW, folks: I consider Alina to be one of Romania's treasures. Be sure to check out her blog, Words of a Broken Mirror.
I've been following Alina for several years. She continues to be a great resource for me in the areas of marketing and PR. She is also a perfect example of how blogging can help your career.
When I met Alina in the blogosphere, she already had great online presence. I expect 2009 to be a banner year for her. She just launched her own company (Mirror Communications), and I know she will do well.
I met Alina through Shirazi. Both are successful bloggers for several reasons. They:
1. demonstrate expertise in their fields.
2. stay on top of changing trends.
3. network, network, network.
4. take time to let their readers know they care.
To Alina and Shi: Thanks, guys!
Deb, thank you so much for your kind words, you've really made me blush! Anyway, everything you've said about Shi and me is also true for you. I've been reading you for quite a while now you've been a constant source of information, inspiration and warmth. You're one of the best bloggers I know when it comes to taking the conversation further. You have unmatched comment section skills.
About the links in the blogroll, I should add something: they should also be related to the field your blog covers, when it's a business blog. For example, if it's a pr blog, one should link to other pr and mk blogs, to journalists, trend setters, etc. It should also be limited to a certain number of blogs. For example I follow about 500 blogs through my reader. Although I love all blogs I follow, I could never list them all in my blogroll.
Alina: There is a reason I consider you one of Romania's treasures. :-)
Great advice, as always. Thanks again.
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