A blog and website dedicated to personal thoughts can showcase your individuality to the world.
Among viewers online, employers or prospective clients sometimes use blogs to evaluate job seekers. Blogs can transform a regular job application into something more unique and expressive.
Figuring Out Your Blog’s Purpose
Blogs start off as simple concepts but produce different results. A blog’s purpose varies depending on the individual’s interests and field of work.
Below lists some common blog content from different job areas. However, blogs also commonly include other topics such as daily life stories or hobbies.
- Writing: These blogs usually catalogue a writer’s published content such as articles or books. Other topics, from editing to writer’s block, also enrich these websites.
- Photography and/or Cinematography: These blogs showcase galleries full of media. Various information about shooting techniques, genres, or equipment reviews sometimes accompany each photo/video.
- Graphic Design: These blogs generally feature posts about topics successful branding, typography, and helpful devices within the field. A designer’s visual portfolio placed throughout the blog (or on its own separate page) ties the blog together.
How to Start a Blog
Luckily, many website builders simplify the website creation process. These platforms prioritize accessibility over requirements of web design knowledge. A quick start allows individuals to fill their blogs with content right away.
Free website builder platforms include:
Examples of Blogs
Allow these spectacular blogs to help you envision what yours looks like:
1. Shayla Raquel (Focus: Writing)
Shayla Raquel displays her talents in a colourful manner. Links to her works, her services, her social media pages, and available bookings make it easy to understand who she is. Alongside showcasing her qualities, Shayla provides blog posts with tips on the writing process.
2. Joe McNally (Focus: Photography)
Joe McNally, an award-winning photographer and filmmaker, displays his work through multiple media galleries. His blog delves in the planning behind shoots, the various equipment he uses, and the many lessons learned over the course of his 44-year career.
3. Jacob Cass (Focus: Graphic Design)
Jacob Cass’s blog, JUST Creative, doubles as a resource and a branding/design consultancy in one. He advertises his business, his resources, and tips for aspiring graphic designers in a sleek and easy to read website.
Using Your Blog Content on Resumes or Cover Letters
Implementing your blog content on a resume or cover letter provides easy samples for employers to reference.
For content-based jobs, many require samples. First time job hunters tend to lack many samples, but blogs help supplant that gap. Blog samples help employers get a sense of your personality, your skills, and passion behind your content.
Implement blog links in resumes or cover letters by:
- Adding your blog homepage in the resume’s contact information section. This section houses details such as your name, email, and phone number.
- Adding links to blog posts in examples of past work. Within a cover letter state a sentence such as, “a portfolio of my graphic design work can be found on my website” (link where bolded or state the website title itself).
The next time you find yourself submitting a job application, add a blog link on there! It helps shoulder some of the initial nerves by providing an additional venue to promote yourself.