Why Blogging can Help you Change Careers

Changing careers is different to finding a new job in your current profession, in that you have to prove to employers that you’re capable of doing a type of work you haven’t previously experienced. After all, why should anyone hire someone to do a kind of job they’ve never done before?

Of course, huge amounts of people each year are actually able to start new careers by convincing employers and recruiters that they have the passion, expertise and curiosity to make it in a brand new career area. However, as job markets become more and more saturated and more and more competitive, it’s becoming increasingly tricky to stand out in a crowd of candidates. You’re not only competing with people already experienced in the profession you want to shift to, but also all the other individuals who, like you, have both the desire and capability to take on this new career. How do you make your unique voice heard?

Since the advent of the Internet and the wildfire spreading of social media, blogging is perhaps one of the most popular ways of making your presence felt in Western society. And just because blogging is so unbelievably popular doesn’t mean that each blog isn’t unique. Just as there are billions of people on this planet, yet no two people are the same, no two blogs are the same. The relative informality of a blog and the fact that you can literally blog about anything means that your blog will inevitably be a reflection of who you are. And anything that reflects your identity will also reflect your passions, expertise, experience and willingness to learn.

What we’re saying is, if you want it to be known who you are, why you want a certain profession and why you’re capable of succeeding in that profession, a blog is a great way of getting your unique message across. Whatever career you want, you can blog about it. You can blog about the relevant industries and sectors as well.

A blog is also a great platform because you can publish multiple types of content on it, including, but not limited to:

• Tip-style articles
• How-to guides
• Opinion and thought pieces
• Interviews
• Product reviews
• Q&A type posts

With so many different ways of expressing yourself on a blog, you’re bound to find a few styles that suit both you and your subject matter.

A lot of people are put off the idea of blogging because they don’t think they’re ‘natural writers’. It’s true that writing comes more naturally to some people than it does to others, but blogging is a very different form of writing to more formal kinds.  When composing a blog, simply write as if you were speaking to a friend—within reason. And remember the more you blog, the better you’ll become at it.

Another reason why many of us are reluctant to blog is because we don’t think anyone will see it. In truth, it’s becoming easier and easier each day to promote your blog and increase its visibility. Here are some proven methods of doing so:

1. Get Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn accounts so you can link to and share new blog posts across these social media platforms.
2.  Include the URL of your blog on your business cards.
3. Submit the blog to blog directories.
4. Submit individual blog posts to social bookmarking sites such as Stumbleupon.
5. Tell your friends, family and colleagues that you have a blog and get them to tell their friends.
6. Leave thoughtful, informed, non-spammy comments on blogs similar to yours and include your URL in the relevant submission field.
7. Arrange with other bloggers in your niche to link to one another on your blog rolls

And of course, you can directly send links to your blog to the very people whose attention you’re trying to get. Look on social networks for employers and recruiters related to your chosen career. Go to specific employer organisations’ websites and find the relevant email address on their contact page. If you’re uncomfortable with just ‘cold-sending’ your blog URL to people, make an initial contact with them to introduce yourself and ask if you can show them your blog so they can get a better idea of who you are.

For more career change pointers, check out our unmissable eBook 100 Essential Career Change Tips. To find out more about the role social networking can play in our career transitions, have a look at 135 Networking Tips.

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