Starting a career blog – to blog or not to blog?

‘To blog or not to blog, that is the question!’

Blogging is rapidly emerging as a great new way to advance your career. Blogs have become a ritual reading, an indication of a person’s professional reliability and at the very least an opportunity to have your name on the internet other than on a Facebook account. As the saying goes ‘It’s not what you know, it’s who you know’. With the added bonus of introducing you to a whole new circle, establishing a strong base of professionals who read your articles frequently and can be beneficial to you, and your career.

When’s a good time to start blogging?

There is no time like the present!

• You will be giving the readers a chance to read about your journey and connect with you throughout your career- if you keep them interested that is.
• Taking this initiative looks great on a resume!

Whether you’re a freshly graduated professional or have been employed for a while, everyone has experienced situations similar to yours and there is always going to be someone else who is experiencing what you’re going through. Blogging will become a source of comfort for your readers, although be sure to follow our guidelines to prevent anything career damaging from ending up on the internet!

Establish Yourself

Showing readers that you’re a reliable source is how you strengthen the degree of respect that’s associated with your name, and subsequently this could open up avenues for media sources to contact you- a little publicity never hurt anyone. For example, if you’re an early career Allied Health Professional, writing material relating to current issues in the field is one way of establishing yourself and giving yourself some credibility when you walk into your next interview.

Passion

Be passionate about the topics you blog. The more engaged you are with the content, the more engaged the reader will be.

A blog is not the same thing as a personal diary:

• If you are relaying personal experiences, make sure it still has something of value. Ask yourself, how would my readers benefit from reading this?
• Though you are dealing with social media, try to make sure your spelling, grammar and general flow of text allow readers to take you seriously.
• If you’re not the most creative and influential writer (you don’t have to be!) be sure to share your work with friends or colleagues before going live. This is especially helpful in identifying passages that don’t make sense to others, but that may seem perfectly normal to you.
• Be careful not to reveal any confidential information or inadvertently expose people.

Happy blogging!