It Was Someone Else’s Turn
When our son was 9 months old, my husband said to me, “I’ve done everything I want with my career. From this point I don’t expect a lot of new challenges — 21 years is a long time. It’s someone else’s turn. . . . You’re having such fun with what you’re doing. If you can replace my salary, I’ll stay home with the baby.”
I did. He did.
This morning I realized that 21 years later, I had a similar conversation at a trade show. A VP asked why I started blogging. This was my reply.
“Because I was a VP of Publishing, this industry sees me as a product person. Folks don’t value my experience in marketing, acquisitions, and training.”
He said, “You’re right. When I look at a resume, I look at job titles first. Then, if I’m interested, I look at skill sets.”
“That’s why I blog,” I said. “My blog is a 360 degree resume. It’s an ongoing interview in cyberspace.”
It’s true. A blog can be that.
These days no one has job security. Everyone needs an updated resume. Why settle for only a resume?
You can blog your way to brand that defines who you are and what you do much more completely. Make your blog a foundation — a career basecamp in cyberspace — a showcase of skills and expertise you have that future employers and clients need.
Turn the page. I’ll show you how.
6 Easy Steps to a Career Basecamp in Cyberspace
A cyberspace career basecamp — it’s an exciting idea, isn’t it? A basecamp will outlast your current employment, provide an uninterrupted business story, even help you change careers, if that’s the plan. How do you make the most of the possibilities? Here are six steps to get you started.
- Identify your unique talents and competencies. What are you the “go to guy” for? Look in my header. My tagline answers that question about me. Decide what you want your blog to say about you.
- Make a plan for how you’ll introduce each topic or skill. Businesses have strategic plans. Be strategic about introducing your key skills. Give your readers a chance to get to know each one before you move on. Then cycle back to revisit each one again on a deeper level.
- Use signage and headlines to support your plan. Be obvious, not clever. Let folks know who you are by what you call things. Name/rename your blog; write your tagline; choose categories; and word post titles with your focus in mind.
- Write series around the key ideas. A series makes ideas bigger and helps them imprint more fully in readers’ minds.
- Speak with your own voice and tell your own truth. You’re talking from your competencies. Don’t be self-conscious. Explain how you think to intelligent readers. Let folks see your expertise.
- Ask someone who sees like an intelligent reader to check your design to ensure it supports the ideas you represent. Be convinced that how you look matches and underscores what you say in every detail.
Use this checklist to build a career basecamp in cyberspace that will show off the strength of your competencies. Your blog can be a 360 degree resume that lets future employers and clients see exactly who you are and what you can do for them.
How will you turn your blog into a basecamp for your career? You don’t need to wait 21 years.
–ME “Liz” Strauss
Check out the Work with Liz!! page in the sidebar.
See the complete Brand You series on the Successful Series Page.
