Photo by Sergi Kabrera on Unsplash
Companies all over the world might be looking for exactly someone like you and your skillset for their next hire. Sadly, a lot of people miss out on potential dream jobs because their reach barely leaves the county or state, maybe not even the city in which they live.
Could you be missing out on your dream job?
If you rely mostly on just your CV or LinkedIn to get you your dream job, you are sharing what you do and not what you know. Sharing what you do is only really efficient within your network and maybe 2-3 connections out if you are lucky, because as harsh as it might sound there is probably only a very limited number of people outside of your network who even know you exist.
So how do you increase your reach outside of your network, without actually meeting any new people?
Share what you know, and not what you do.
It seems so simple, yet most people don't do this. Your knowledge is your biggest asset and is the primary thing companies hire you for, and a CV just won't do it justice, especially if you have little to no formal education like myself.
Further more, having a blog could not only help you increase your reach, it could also be the differentiator between you and the competition since it helps reinforce your CV and because most people don't have an online presence outside of their LinkedIn.
What should you post?
In my opinion you should try to share knowledge which could benefit others, even your competition, because it shows that you are confident and knowledgeable. Even if that was your only goal, to get hired, you might still find that you get a kick out of helping others improve professionally and personally as well.
I am personally a strong believer in sharing knowledge to anyone willing to absorb it. You never know, they could end up teaching you a thing or two or make some amazing products later in life you will come to depend on. Think of it as Karma if you will.
Don't worry if you don't know what to write in your blog, or if you a confident writer. You will learn it as you go along, plus the toughest part is the beginning, trust me. Worst case, you only get better at writing and formulating yourself - in which case I would still call that a win!
"The expert at anything was once a beginner." - Helen Hayes
I hope this post gave you some food for thought, or kicked started some ideas. Don't wait, jump into it right away! If you don't know where to start, I can personally recommend Ghost.org. I use them for this blog, even though I am more than capable of setting up a blog myself.
With this post I am going to follow my own advice and I will do it with this blog. I will be posting guides, information and thoughts primarily on code and security related subjects, along with other hopefully useful posts like this one.