How blogging helped me get my first job

 

I graduated form college a few months ago, and admittedly, I’d been kind of putting off finding a job. I told my parents I’d wait until January, let the holiday craziness pass, and then I’d begin actively seek something to do with my life. Even then I knew I wanted to put as much information as possible about my blog on my resume. And it paid off, because I’m pretty sure blogging helped me get my first job.

My ultimate dream is obviously publishing my book and having multiple sources of income, most that would be related to books in some way. But another passion of mine I discovered while in college, is digital marketing. And it had more to do with creating this blog and interacting with the community than anything I could’ve learnt in class.

So, my ideal 9 to 5 job was something in the digital marketing field.

But I had a couple of things working against me:

• Fresh out of college and ‘without experience’
• Fresh out of college and without a formal marketing education
• I have no photoshop skills
• Let’s add without formal experience again, just to emphasize it

I applied through some job-seeking platforms, and sent some emails directly to some marketing agencies. Well, actually, just one. They politely replied that there were no open positions at the moment but they’d keep me on file.

I was excited because there was the possibility of working a month at my local bookstore, but when that fell through, I was really disappointed.

The morning of the day my luck changed, I was getting ready to go to the gym. I was also toying with the idea of sending a revised version of my resume to another marketing agency I’d been scouting. I did.

By 10 am they’d replied asking me to answer some questions, and then go for an interview if I was available later that day. I was freaked out but accepted. The next day’s afternoon, I’d gotten the job.

 

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It was just amazing luck that I’d applied when a position had opened there. But during the interview, and after when I learned they interviewed two other people, I thought about the experience that qualified me to be there, even if I hadn’t studied a marketing career perse, or had any prior marketing jobs.

Without my blog, I’d never have been able to convince this company that I could help them do their job.

 

What I put on my resume

A pretty design

If I was going to apply for jobs, I was going to rock the hell out of that resume design! The interviewer even pointed out to me that he liked how I’d put it together. Felt like a weight had been lifted!

It was simple, but I also wanted it to look nice, and not boring.

 

 

 

An intro statement

This one wasn’t there at the beginning. My father suggested I add a brief paragraph kinda summarizing who I am, and what I can do. It wasn’t easy, but I gave it a shot.

During my interview, the other person used this paragraph to prompt me to talk more about it and explain some things.

This was what I wrote:

As a trilingual business graduate, I’ve had the opportunity to learn several skills and knowledge, specially in the digital marketing field. I’m familiar with concepts of content marketing, email marketing, content planning, copywriting, and community building.

I’d like to contribute to an organization where I can add value to their work and further develop my professional skills.

I know, even I was surprised.

I wasn’t lying. I am comfortable with all these things. I’ve done my research these last four years. Some of it I haven’t been able to apply, but damn if I haven’t read dozens of articles on blogging, how to monetize your knowledge, and get more traffic. Damn if I haven’t read yet even more papers on instagram engagement, analytics, consumer behavior and influencer marketing.

Point is, don’t sell yourself short.

These things have become habit for me, and I think for most bloggers as well. Checking the stats, experimenting with what works, and doesn’t work, communicating with others, etc.

They’re routine for us. But out there, it’s marketing experience, plain and simple.

 

Skills

I listed the most important tools I use for digital marketing to show I know what I’m doing. I tried to solve my Photoshop hiccup with mentioning I know my way around Canva. True, it isn’t that hard to master, but if the interviewer asked, I would’ve gladly shown him I could design a graphic just as professional. And it’s not just about the tool itself. It’s about graphic design concepts too.

Creating a blog aesthetic requires we develop a brand identity. That’s something super useful in marketing. So, yup, we’re masters at combining colors and fonts.

WordPress skills are also worth mentioning since it’s only one of the most popular website platforms. And wordpress bloggers live and breathe wordpress, so bonus points!

Marketers also love people who can interpret Google Analytics, and that’s kinda like checking the weather for us, so no biggie.

 

My blog

This was where I legit cracked my knucles. I listed it as ‘Voluntary Experience’, and in the most professional way possible, I explained what this was about, and what I did. I wrote in a way that every inane task I do almost every single day, seemed like the most marketing-ish marvel ever.

I mentioned activities like creating graphics, the content itself, sending newsletters and planning content in an editorial calendar.

 

My work at Stay Bookish

At Stay Bookish, the YA ezine a group of talented bloggers have been working on for almost two years, we’re currently on a hiatus, but it was recent enough to mention it. One, it was more proof that I definitely know how to write, and write in english as well. Two, it shows that I can play in a team and that I’m involved in really cool stuff!

 

They say you should tailor the resume to your desired job

And they’re right.

True, I wouldn’t have been able to apply to other jobs, say that focus on my english language skiils, with this very same resume. But it also meant that everything in there could help me get a marketing-related job.

 

It’s too soon to say I’m having the time of my life with my job. It’s barely my first week, but I am over the moon at having been given the opportunity to show what I can do, and I’m so grateful because blogging helped me get my first job!

 

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Do you have a job? Have you ever mentioned it to your employer? Has blogging helped you in your job in some way?

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