The insiders info: blogging my way to employment
I have had opportunities, through industry experience, to talk with professionals regarding digital presence. However, it was not until this module, that I have had an opportunity to reflect properly upon the advice given to me. The advice I was given from these industry professionals, which was reiterated to me this week, was the extent to which digital platforms can aid career success. This also built upon the knowledge gained from previous weeks surrounding the migrating context of career to the digital. Reflecting on advice given to me from this week and previous meetings with industry professionals have emphasised to me the importance of savvy digital media use to showcase myself and my skill set.
Both representatives from Northern Lights PR and Bubble Jobs stressed the value and importance of blogging. The entire Internet is available for professional development, and the 'Blogosphere' is rapidly expanding. While I read fashion, beauty and nutrition blogs, the thought of starting my one has never appealed to me mainly as I don't feel knowledgeable enough about any one particular subject. Both representatives advised that starting a blog about everything and anything will not aid my career in the way I want it too. What I have learnt is that in order to utilise the blogosphere to my advantage I need to determine a specific focus and grow to become an expert in that particular field.
Starting a blog will help showcase my skills and most importantly passions that I have. Blogging is a form of self-publishing that can be utilised to network and to gain connections while showcasing my interests. I have begun to think about my career interests and starting a blog around this. For example, I am interested in working in social media and PR. I could begin to blog about excellent social media and PR campaigns and why they stood out to me. Including a blog on my CV would show to potential employers that I have a serious interest in the field and have begun immersing myself in the world of social media and PR. While I was aware of the growing relevance of blogs, I had never critically thought about utilising the platform for my professional development.
A brand new insight that I gained this week was from Victoria Tomlinson from Northern Lights PR. She invited us to 'think like a search engine'. By this, she was asking us to consider how employers would use search engines to look for potential employees. While I have previously googled my name to discover which of my social media profiles employers will be able to find. I have never considered using keywords that employers would use when searching for potential employees to see if I have a presence in their results. In the future, I will consider this when looking and applying for jobs. I will also use this advice to tailor my online profiles, such as LinkedIn, to ensure that I am visible to my potential employers.