Blogging As A Means Of Promoting Your Skills We are 13 years into the 2nd century and we do not have flying cars. No, we do not have teleportation machines, and we have not found alien life-forms on other plants. In fact, we have actually stripped one of the plants of their planet status which was rather disconcerting. In my opinion, many individuals enjoyed having Pluto as the small, gray plant at the end of the acronyms – a way of remembering the names for Geography class. Sadly, that won’t work anymore. However, disregarding all the things we don’t have, we do have the Internet.
The Internet has changed our lives, both personal and professional, and living in the technological era we have had to adapt. Yes, there are those professions that remain purely ‘on-site’ but there are many who have moved online and require the new professionals to acknowledge and begin their careers as such. It is with this premise in mind, that I choose to discuss promoting skills online and the easiest way to complete this task is via blogging.
Originally, many individuals saw blogging as a form of self-expression and an alternative to journals. Initially, it was a method of stating your opinion on various topics from the ‘iffy’ taste of your banana smoothie to the issue of homosexuality being viewed as an immoral sin. Now, blogs are being used as promotional tools whereby individuals will present their abilities to future employers which may happen to peruse their web-space.
As an example, I will use the blogs of aspiring journalists. Two decades ago, in the 1990s, a journalist would be required to gain experience at local newspapers or underground publications in order to ‘polish’ their CV. They would be expected to make contacts and meet individuals whom they feel would be beneficial to their career by leaving the solitude of their bedroom and ‘getting their hands dirty’. To obtain an internship or entry-level position – highly unlikely without the unpaid internship for 5 years – the aspiring writer would have to post their CV to different companies in the hope one of them will respond positively.
Nowadays, not only is the individual able to send their CV via email and save on stamps, but they are also able to demonstrate their abilities on a blog with the hope the employer will see this. This increases their chance as they no longer rely on a CV alone. The blog’s theme, design, and content allow the employer to gain a sense of the individual and make an informed decision.
One of the more popular platforms for journalists is WordPress as more industries choose this platform as a base for their website. By doing this they already have a secondary connection with the potential employer. Furthermore, WordPress allows for more structured and professional themes making the site less child-like.
As may be seen, a personal blog can be used for more than musings on ‘random stuff’. If structured properly and carefully maintained it can assist in displaying important occupational skills.
