Todays guest post is from David Spinks.
David Spinks is the Community Manager for Scribnia, where the world’s bloggers and columnists are reviewed by their readers. He also blogs at The Spinks Blog about business, young professionals and social media.”
Starting a blog takes a lot of guts. Making that leap into the public eye isn’t easy! Even after you get started, maintaining a blog that doesn’t get much traffic or comments right away can be discouraging.
It was right here on Liz Strauss’ blog where I got my first dose of confidence in my blogging career. Back in January when I was still a senior at SUNY Genseo, I had become friends with Kathryn Jennex through twitter and my blog, and she was kind enough to include me in one of her posts on this blog.
I’ll never forget that post. It was my first reassurance that maintaining my blog was a good idea…and now here I am again almost a full year later. I now work full time doing something that I absolutely love.
Every young professional or professionally aspiring student has a great deal to gain from starting a blog. The time and commitment that you have to put into maintaining a blog is greatly outweighed by the value that you get out of it.
I started my blog at the beginning of the second semester of my senior year. While I didn’t plan it this way originally, looking back, I think this is a perfect time for students to start a blog. It’s right around the time when most college students start taking their career seriously. They see graduation day fast approaching, and worry about what they’re future will look like.
Here are some reasons why starting a blog in your senior year is a perfect transition from college into the real world:
- Best of both worlds. To this point, you’ve probably only learned from teachers, looking in from the outside. Reading blogs, and starting your own blog will allow you to put one foot into the real world, while keeping the other foot in school. You can learn what the industry is really like, in a setting outside of the classroom.
- Start to make connections. For networking, there are few methods that are better than blogging. Not only because people read your work, but also because you’ll be reading others’ work and commenting there. You can tie your blogging conversations to conversations on twitter and make connections there too. You can go to 100 job fairs in your senior year, but all you need is the right connection at the right time, and you’ll find a job.
- Catch up on trends. Most college courses have one major downside, they talk about the past. Very few professional courses will teach you the newest and most innovative methods that are being used today. Blogging tends to take place at the cutting edge. If there’s a new trend or tool, the blogosphere has it covered.
- Make yourself an attractive candidate. You’d be amazed how highly regarded bloggers are in the professional world. They’re considered thought leaders, innovators and leaders. Your blog displays your knowledge, your commitment and your ability to write/communicate. It will be a huge differentiator when you’re competing for job openings.
It’s been an amazing experience for me and has proven that the time put in truly pays off. I meet amazing people like Kathryn and Liz every day. Without blogging, none of it would have been possible.
So what are you waiting for? Start reading and writing some blog posts. Inspire yourself to inspire others.
