No, really, it is. You thought you were just writing about your favourite shoes or whatever, but have you realised you’re teaching yourself some really useful skills that you can put on your CV? Even if you’re not looking to work in a creative field where it’s obvious where your blog would fit in, there are still some transferrable skills that you’re picking up here, and it’s always a good thing to talk about in an interview as it shows that you’ve got outside interests that you’re interested in working at (employers love that – well, as long as it’s not going to interfere with your work life!)
Writing is something that you should always be doing to improve, and of course, by blogging, you’re teaching yourself how to compose brilliant posts (we know they’re brilliant) and forcing yourself out of those bags habits where you mix up they’re, their and there. It’s an important skill just to write a decent email.
When you’re talking to PRs, etc, did you realise that you’re not just discussing your blog and their latest product, but you’re actually developing your negotiation skills and also learning how to build and maintain professional relationships (yep, those emails and tweets where you talk about rubbish with your favourite brand executives are actually a good thing!) You’re also learning how to be diplomatic when you’re trying to explain to that pushy PR person that whilst you’d love to do that review or go to that event, that it’s just not a good fit for your blog or that you just can’t travel that far. (Always remember to end those sort of emails with how you’d love to work with them again in the future, because who knows what sort of brands they’ll work with in the future. If you take nothing else away from this post, always remember to be polite to everyone – not just because you don’t know what will happen in the future, but because it’s just a nice thing to do!)
If you’re confident enough to tweak your HTML, or if you know how to put together a gorgeous collage for those wish list posts, then maybe you’ve developed a real eye for design. Of course, if you’re also teaching yourself to use that fancy camera of yours, then pop that on your CV.
You’ve got an hour or so to take photos, edit photos, write the blog post, include any specific links requested, deal with your bulging inbox and reply to any comments and tweets that need it. Can you do it? Of course – because you’ve got amazing time management skills.
Finally, you’ve probably got a Facebook page, a Twitter profile, and all the various other social media bits that you seem to require to have a blog these days. Being able to use these tools is super useful in some industries, and can be a real benefit. Knowing how to get the best out of the different sites is something that you can really only pick up from actually using them, so get practising!
So, now you’ve got the perfect answer for whenever your boyfriend/girlfriend/parents/nosy person in your life tries to tell you that you’re wasting your time blogging. You’re not just messing about on the internet, you’re developing yourself! (Then tell them they’re being silly, because blogging is great ;) )
Of course, with all of these skills, you might need a little help in honing them, but that’s where we come into play – we’re here to help you with anything you need in your blog life, and we love to hear from you! Email, comment or tweet us with any questions, and we’ll do our best to solve them.
I wish people around me would realize that all of this stuff… they are actually very useful skills and can prove to be job worthy. Unfortunately, to the other world, it still looks as if I’m wasting my life away online. Tough life for an internety person, eh? ;)
I’ve actually given presentations at library conferences about blogging and given people training at work on how to use social media to promote our library service. It really is a transferable skill.