Job seekers today are finding new ways to catch the attention of employers. These savvy seekers are putting their skills to the test and blogging their way to job opportunities.
Why start a blog? Blogging gives you the opportunity to write about a sector, interview industry experts, attend conferences in your field, define and redefine your point of view to get the attention of those in your chosen field who may want to hire you.
Below are blogging best practices from Forbes:
First Have a Goal
Your blog can be anything you want. But to make it work for you, you should first have a goal, says John Rampton, founder of Blogging.org and PPC.org. Rampton said it’s important to figure out what you want your blog to do, and to figure out the topics and, importantly, the keywords, to use in your posts.
What’s Your Business Model?
According to social media consultant Jay Baer, you also need to figure out your business model before you start. Do you want your blog to drive consulting work, do you want to get paid for blogging, do you want to get a job out of it? Baer suggests bloggers sharpen their focus by identifying the audience they’re targeting and the questions that audience has so they can provide the right answers.
Blog on Schedule
Most blogging experts concur that if you don’t publish regularly, you’ll fail to get traction. The more you post, the more eyeballs ultimately find their way to your blog, with the majority of eyeballs coming through search. And the more you use popular keywords for your category, they higher you will rank with Google, the holy grail of bloggers (and pretty much everybody.)
Help Your Readers
Keep in mind that to get readers you need to provide a service in the form of information and problem-solving. Think about the problems your target audience currently has, and who, if not you, might have some answers. That question will guide your interviewing efforts and help you identify and find resolution for issues in your new sector. Sharing the goal of helping others should embolden you to reach out to industry experts since showcasing their ideas on your blog is beneficial to them and their organization.
Be Visible on Social Media
Don’t neglect to have a social strategy for your blog posts. Get the word out about each post on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook as a start.