Blogging To Land A Job Step #1: Connect with Industry Leaders

If you write a professional blog about a niche in your industry, there is a chance your employer will know your name BEFORE you even apply for a job.

You’re in an interview.  The weary hiring manager sits behind a desk in front of you, looking down at a stack of papers.  “All right,” he mumbles, casting you a half-glance.  “How did you hear about us again?

You reply that you are an avid follower of his company’s blog, and that you found the company’s tips on becoming SEO-friendly to be particularly innovative.  “I especially liked yesterday’s post …,” you say, but then the hiring manager interrupts you.

“Wait a minute,” he says, scanning your resume.  “You’re Joe Wagner?  You’re THE Joe Wagner of the TechTitans blog?  I know you!  I love your blog!”  Suddenly, you have the hiring manager’s full attention.

How often does a dream scenario like the one above happen?  Not nearly as often as it should.  But it IS something that can happen to you if you put a little time and effort into something called a “Passion Blog.”

What’s a passion blog?  Quite simply, it’s an professional blog that describes, details, and comments upon something that you are —yup, you guessed it—passionate about.

But this is not just an “I-love-cats”  or “my favorite band” blog.   This blog has a purpose:  to get you connected with the top industry leaders in your field.  These connections give you a competitive advantage in the job market.

You’re not just another resume; you’re a person with proven skills who converses intelligently with key players in your field (who are also potential employers!) about the hottest topics in their profession.  You are instantly transformed from a sniveling supplicant  into a colleague in the field.

And it’s that personal connection that is proving to be increasingly critical in today’s job market.  “Connections, or networking, is more important than ever because in this down economy there are so many applicants that employers don’t have time to perform the culling and elimination processes they once did,” says Sandra Lamb, author of How To Write It: Personal Notes, as quoted in CNN’s Is Getting a Job Really About Who You  Know? “Job seekers, therefore, must hone their networking circuits to get themselves connected to the right employment opportunities.”

By creating a professional passion blog and focusing it in a way that requires you to interview the key players in your industry, you will skip the middle man (hiring manager) completely and become an active participant in your future boss’s conversations.

Concerned about how to create a passion blog?  Don’t worry.  We’re here to help.  Degrees2Dreams will take you through a step-by-step process to create a powerful, compelling blog that will get you in front of the most important leaders in your field.

Follow our steps carefully, and you will be well on your way to finding your dream job. Stay tuned for Step 2.

License plate photo reprinted with permission; Creative Commons license by Wesley Fryer.