I interviewed a hiring manager recently. She had just made a hiring decision for a new manager, but the race was pretty close. I asked her what was the deciding factor - why this guy over the other guy. Her answer may not surprise you. It comes down to three important words.
Body of Work.
Why Everyone Should Have A Blog
The guy she hired had a two-year-old
blog that he regularly maintained. It exhibited his opinions, his speeches, his writing – in short, his body of work.
Note that the new manager’s blog didn’t get him discovered, or make him famous or rich. It simply showed his next boss what he was all about. It broke a tie. It made an impression on someone trying to get to know him better.
With over 160 million blogs on the internet, approximately one out of six people write a blog. About 10 percent of those people blog every single day. But after three months, 95 percent of blogs are abandoned.
If you want to learn about the process of blogging, then I highly recommend the Become a Blogger program. This article will focus just on the platform to choose. With the right platform, you are less likely to abandon your blog and more likely to document your body of work.
Over 80 percent of blogs run on WordPress. WordPress is an amazing platform; I use it myself. But it’s not the easiest platform to get started with. It requires some technical knowledge, constant updating, and strategies for dealing with spam and backup files.
For the beginning
job search blogger looking to start a body of work, try out these easy alternative platforms.
Tumblr
There are over 66 million blogs on the Tumblr platform. In 2010 it grew so fast that they ran out of server space in about a week. Today, the world’s major brands take advantage of Tumblr’s reputation. Check out this year’s Olympics or the Adidas Originals brand.
Tumblr is flexible, which many designers and visual professionals really enjoy. If you are looking to get away from a simple linear flow of blog posts, there are customizations available to do that.
Apart from standard features, Tumblr also gives you a phone number, so you can call in your blog posts. Their mobile platform is stunning. And your search engine rankings will happen automatically.
Posterous Spaces
The theme you will find with Posterous is simplicity. Where Tumblr will allow you to complicate your blog endlessly, Posterous will give you fewer design options. Many people find this simplicity refreshing.
One of the key advantages to Posterous is their advanced e-mail to blog system. To help you maintain a consistent blog, you are given a unique e-mail address. Simply e-mail your post to Posterous and it will do an extremely nice job publishing your content, including pictures and files.
Blog.com
Blog.com is the largest WordPress-centric blogging platform outside of wordpress.com. There are a number of advantages to using this platform, including the freedom to upload video without having to pay an upgrade fee. You’ll find the themes at Blog.com more traditional blog-looking themes, along with premium themes you can purchase.
If you want a traditional-looking blog without the hassle of plugins and upgrades, Blog.com is a good option.
Weebly.com
If you are looking for more than just a blog – say you want to have an online resume, video resume or static portfolio – then Weebly is a great platform for you. Of all of these blogging options, Weebly has the most flexibility. It was developed to allow non-technical folks a chance to build and design websites of any sort.
Choosing A Blog Platform
Choosing between these platforms will not be an easy task. However, keep in mind that they are all designed to help you quickly and easily publish content. So when making a determination on which one to use, I would suggest signing up for all four. Then see which designs you like better, and which user interface you like better. And then stick to that one.
Image Credit: Shutterstock
