How To Use Guest Blogging To Attract Work

How To Use Guest Blogging To Attract Work 108 Share your expertise to earn attention from the right people. A guest blog post is authored by you but published on someone else’s blog. By quickly growing a small portfolio of 3-5 guest posts on well-known blogs in your industry, you create a self-marketing campaign to show current value to potential employers. And this is true for any job seeker- employed or unemployed, salary worker or freelancer.eval 7 benefits of guest blog posts 1. New achievements â€" Being published on major websites or blogs will give you some recent achievements to mention on your job search. Particularly effective if you’re on a long job search and haven’t had any professional successes since your last job. 2. Proof of value â€" Your guest blog posts will show that your knowledge is valuable now and that your skills are still up-to-date.eval 3. Publicity â€" After all, your work will appear in public on some of the most popular blogs in your industry. 4. Personal branding â€" as your guest posts introduce you to the blog audiences, people will associate the topic of expertise with you. 5. Long-term impact â€" blog posts usually stay available in a host blog’s archives forever, giving you the opportunity of creating something now that will continue engaging people for years to come. 6. References â€" have fresh LinkedIn recommendations added to your profile from happy host bloggers you contributed to. 7. Bolster your online presence â€" showcase your published posts via your LinkedIn profile’s Publications section and the “Contributor to” (Links) section of your Google+ profile. Most importantly: you might attract job inquiries on the strength of your guest posts alone, whether from readers you impressed or even from the websites you submitted content to. 5 steps to use guest blog posts Step 1: Have a professional web presence This is easier than it sounds. You will need the url of a website that you can send people to for professional reasons. If you blog about your profession, use your blog. You might also consider one of your social media profiles such as Twitter or Facebook, if you’re using those networks for work purposes. At minimum, complete your LinkedIn profile and use that. Whatever you choose, it needs to be a webpage that has your contact information clearly indicated. You want employers to find you, right? Step 2: Find the top 5 blogs in your industry You’re now looking for blogs to submit guest posts to. Try: Googling “top blogs [your industry] twitter list”. The results will include both articles and Twitter Lists of bloggers in your industry. Asking colleagues for recommendations Ask on Quora Using Twitter to ask industry experts for their favorites Step 3: Get blog post ideas that are likely to be popular Once you’ve found the top blogs in your industry, research which articles were most popular on each of them. Why? A blog is more likely to accept your guest blog post if they think it will attract many visitors, growing the blog itself and helping the host blogger achieve their goals. The easiest way to figure out what will be popular on that blog is to be inspired by what already was popular on that blog. Not to copy past ideas, but to see what kinds of articles their audience appreciates. Find blogs’ most popular articles by- Checking the blog itself for a section titled Popular/Best Of/Most Read/Trending or similar, and then look to see which ideas are featured there. Searching through popular social media like Pinterest or Twitter for the name or domain name of the blog in question. (Note: you can also use these sites to see what kinds of articles are currently popular in general.) Based on your research, come up with an idea for a guest blog post that could be popular on as many of the top 5 blogs as possible. Step 4: Write the guest blog post Based on your research, estimate which of the top blogs you are most likely to impress with your guest blog post. If that blog has specific guest posting guidelines, follow them carefully. They may want you to contact them before you spend time writing anything! Otherwise, get started on creating the content. If you like to write, this might now be the easiest step- take your guest blog post idea and write it up. If you don’t like to write, make a list of ideas that need to be explained in your blog post, and then use a freelance marketplace to find a writer who can turn your list into a guest blog post. Either way, the guest post needs to include a byline with the following information: Who you are and what you do (1-2 lines maximum) Where to find out more about you i.e., a link to the professional web presence of yours mentioned in Step 1 here above A call to action how to contact you for more information because â€" important! â€" you are “currently available for new opportunities.” Here’s a byline template you can copy adapt: [Your Name] is a [last/current job title] from [where you live], specializing in [your 1-3 best skills]. [He/She] recently [mention your best, relevant professional achievement from the past 12 months]. Find out more about [Firstname] from [his/her] [the name of your web presence]. Contact [Firstname] now at [where to contact you] as [he/she] is currently available for new opportunities. Write your blog post in Google Docs and save it as an HTML file, which will make it easier for the blogger to publish. If that sounds too complicated, a Microsoft Word doc file is usually good enough. Step 5: Submit the guest blog post Websites are always looking for good content and to them the best content is value-packed, free, original, targeted and ready to be published. Now it’s up to you to deliver. Unless the blog’s guest posting guidelines say differently, look for a contact form or an email address on the blog that you can use to contact the blogger or site owner. Send a short email briefly introducing yourself and offering the attached, already-written, never-published-anywhere, guest blog post for their publication. In the next sentence â€" summing up your research â€" explain why you think the article will be popular with that blog’s audience. Here’s an email template you can copy adapt: Hi [contact name], My name is [your name], and I’m a [last/current job title] from [where you live]. I’m trying to add to my portfolio by submitting my best work to top blogs. After spending a little time studying [their blog’s name] to see what’s most popular, I put together the attached guest post for you, titled “[your guest blog post’s title].” It’s 100% original and has never been published anywhere else. Would you like to use it? If I don’t hear from you by [3 business days from now], I’ll assume you’re not interested. Thanks in advance, [your professional email signature] If they say yes, great! Then repeat steps 3-5 with a different top blog. If they say no, that’s fine, but try to find out the reason for the rejection even if they might not tell you the truth or anything at all. Ask them if there’s another topic you could contribute on. In the meantime, repeat Step 5 with other top blogs until you get a positive answer. Once your guest blog post is published, go back to Step 3 and dream up another idea. Don’t ignore the published blog post though; promote it, watch how people react to it and respond to their comments. Keep going until you reach your goal of 3-5 guest blog posts. If you need to contact more than the 5 top blogs that you found initially, go back to Step 2 and look for more top blogs. Related articles How to Find the Best Places to Guest Blog The Ultimate Guide to Guest Blogging

Things we Learned From the Circus - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Things we Learned From the Circus - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career The Greatest Show on Earth! Just Closed Forever! Last week the Ringling Bros. and Barnum Bailey Circus  closed down for good. This circus was older than baseball, it was older than most things you may know of and hold near and dear to your heart. The end of the circus is a bit sad, but we can also learn a few things. One of the things we learned is that there are some great lines  in business and personal use that have entered the common vernacular that came from the circus. I have listed them below as indented phrases and followed by “Things we learned from the circus” The Ringling Bros. and Barnum Bailey Circus was founded 146 years ago. If you never made it to their circus you missed a piece of Americana. Yes, the “circus” had gotten a bad rap in the last few years for how they take care of animals. Im sure there was some truth to that, but I don’t want to argue those points here. Im not trying to discount anything or any claims that were made. But, I want to point out … the circus was an innovator. They had to be. They moved every week. They had a literal menagerie of people and animals to care for, feed, clothe, and provide shelter. If you think about it … The circus might just be the original logistics company. Which is effectively what Starbucks, Costco, UPS and FedEx are today. They are logistics companies that happen to serve coffee, food, and products with an ever-increasing eye on efficiency. The Innovation Circus While you may not think of a traditional circus as being all that innovative the fact is they had to innovate in many, many ways â€" from the acts and all the efforts to support them, to the design of The Big Top itself, to the flow and logistics of everything … every week to make it happen … and it had to happen seamlessly. The circus, even back when it started almost 150 years ago, was a giant logistical operation. Hold your horses â€" Things we learned from the circus Think about it. Imagine getting train loads of people, animals, and materials for The Big Top and everything else that made the circus go to a different city every week. Not to mention all the permits for the fields or parking lots  where they needed to set up; and for all the other things they needed in each city; not the least of which was labor, but they also needed to make sure food was available for their performers, their animals, and for the adoring fans. The Modern Circus The Montreal based Cirque du Soleil changed everything about the way a modern circus is perceived. They conceived of a new way to create a circus with all human performers. They Innovated! And, if youve been to Las Vegas or many other large cities around the world you may have seen a Cirque du Soleil performance. The show must go on! â€" Things we learned from the circus This was a stroke of genius in innovation just when the circus industry needed a change. There was a shift from focusing on beasts of burden and other wildlife acts to feats of strength, balance and flexibility within the human species. Innovation is Everywhere It has become a way of life that disruption is everywhere. Some might say the circus industry was ready and ripe for disruption. This is not necessarily the same kind of disruption that we have seen with Uber or Airbnb, but it is no less innovative and life-changing. This was one of the last nomadic tribes running around the country â€" Things we learned from the circus (source: CBS) Your Innovation Impact As you think about your career and the impact you will make Think about the circus and how a 150-year-old institution was slowly changed and eventually went out of existence. Along the way the circus changed acts â€" beyond the tradition high wire and trapeze acts that thrilled us all they also added motorcycles in a giant ball, and freestyle BMX, and other things to entrance a new and more fickle audience. The world changed and the circus tried to change with it. The traditional circus may be dead or at least dying, but there is room for innovation. Look for those gaps and seek ways to innovate … whether you are working in a circus or a circus-like environment. Im not suggesting that in order to stand out in your career that you focus on ending an industry, but I am suggesting that you consider what the future will hold and what people want. Then consider ways to adapt. Throw your hat in the ring! â€" Things we learned from the circus As you graduate to your next engagement, your next project, your next line of thinking … consider the circus. Consider the Things we Learned from the Circus. Consider what you can learn from The Greatest Show on Earth and from The Modern Circus. Consider what you will change, adjust, or otherwise adapt to build something great, to build something memorable, to build something that can last for 150 years. From humble beginnings and grand intentions… The greatest show on earth can be built … again! Will you be the builder? And, What will you build?

10 Secrets to Getting Yourself Headhunted

10 Secrets to Getting Yourself Headhunted “Where did you get my name?” If you receive a call from nowhere from a head-hunter, you’ll always ask this question. But you won’t get any real answer â€" from a professional head-hunter at least. They’ll never reveal their sources, or even discuss the job with you on the first phone call. So what’s with all the mystery? Keeping things secret to make you feel specially selected is part of head-hunters tool box of techniques to lure you out from your office to meet them for an informal first coffee or chat. So how do people get headhunted? Is there anything you can do to hit the radar? The good news is, yes indeed. The better news is here are 10 ideas on how. 1. Be visible A former colleague of mine has been head-hunted twice. He made an effort to be visible and social. He’d go to forums, lunchtime seminars or conferences in his industry and simply talk to people. When he wanted to be serious about his job search, he’d target the seminars that recruitment consultants had sponsored. His favourite tactic was to make sure his name, title and organisation were on all of the attendance lists of events. Many head-hunters scan these for contacts. 2. Give out your card freely This same friend also swapped his cards freely at functions. Like any good networker he followed the networking maxim, if you give something out it may come back in a different way. When he received calls from one head-hunter about a role, if he wasn’t interested, he’d try to provide another person’s name. (Some from the cards he’d collected at events). That way he’d made a future ally of someone professionally useful in the long term. 3. Be well a well rounded professional There is more to it than just being out there. Head-hunters will target you if you are well rounded in your career. The head-hunters I know seek people who have developed themselves and contributed to their industry. As starting points they may search the web for people who’ve published, spoken at conferences , perhaps volunteered their professional skills or even set up a blog. 4. Work This one’s cruel I know and particularly unfair if you are out of a job. But I do know for a fact that you are a far more attractive target for a head-hunter if you are working. It’s partly psychological, from a sense that if you’re not working, there’s a reason for it, even though everyone knows good people out of work from time to time. It’s also partly a suspicion that you may be desperate, you’ll take anything. You are therefore not as desirable as someone who wouldn’t. Think of it as a bit like dating! 5. Put yourself online, but be aware of your presence Whatever you put online is in the public domain. Many employers routinely check LinkedIn and the like. They know it’s wrong. They know there’s a legal minefield attached to potential discrimination issues, but they do it. What this means for you is that you need to manage your professional persona even on social networking sites. If you want to be searchable, keep your profile open. But keep it clean and keep it interesting. Also be aware that many of the comments you put on these sites, go further than the sites themselves. Your comments can end up in Google searches, so do a vanity search and keep a regular eye on your profile and what your friends may post. Many of the head-hunters I’ve spoken to say to Google your name and keep Googling. Put yourself in the mind of an employer who is digging for dirt. 6. Say yes If a head-hunter asks you out for coffee say yes, even if you are not really interested. You’ll gather useful information about salaries and information in your industry and you’ll stay on their radar for other likely roles. 7. Don’t get too carried away with all the excitement Again like dating there’s a dynamic here that starts with you being pursued. You feel desirable. You feel flattered. You forget to ask questions. But this is the stage that you should be asking all the questions you need to help you decide on the job. You’re in a secure position in these early stages. You don’t have to move. So you can afford to be a little relaxed. Your part in this chase is actually to be “difficult to move.” You are instantly better at negotiation when you don’t have anything to lose. 8. Remember who’s paying The client is paying the head-hunter to get you across the line. The more professional head-hunter is making sure you’re the right fit and will answer all your questions. But there is still a lot of money at stake for the head-hunter. So that has to cloud any true objectivity. The fees they charge the client are enormous. And even though they may be paid a retainer for the search (which is supposed to eliminate the “sales” aspect), they will receive a hefty success fee at the end. Some of the better head-hunters I’ve had dealings with, suggest you do your own due diligence on the role and the company, separate of what they say. Take notice of this. That’s a warning, directly from them, about them. 9. Act in good faith I know I’ve said be aware of your value in this process. You need to. But don’t be unprofessional. Good head-hunters will start asking questions early about your salary expectations, package content and super. They will keep confirming this along the way. They are trying to present a realistic position to their client. While they are doing this, you should be doing your own research on the role, so you can establish all its worth to you. Once you have agreement on salary and all the perks, unless something dramatically changes in the role, then that’s it. You’ll do yourself no favours if you suddenly up a salary demand at the last minute when an offer is on the table. Many people up the ante when they know that they’re wanted and the last in the race. However you will make the head-hunter look unprofessional to the client and you’ll look manipulative to the employer. If you’re still fortunate enough to be offered the role despite this, you start a role on the wrong note. 10. Know the difference between a head-hunter and a recruitment consultant Professional head-hunters say they’re different from someone who’ll call you at your desk and launch into a conversation. A professional head-hunter will arrange to meet you at a time of your convenience. They will answer all your questions readily and if they don’t know the answer, they’ll quickly find out. You can tell the professionalism of a head-hunter by the quality of the questions they ask you, the closeness of their relationship with their client and that they will always make themselves available to talk through your concerns. They will be discreet, interested in you, establish mutual interest before divulging the name of the client and not just talk to you about the job over the phone And as I said at the start, a professional head-hunter will never tell you how they first found your name. One other reason is this. It could be too bizarre. I once helped a head-hunter source a senior manager for an accounting firm. He was listed on a website as the captain of the company’s touch football team. There was absolutely no way this manager would have agreed to a coffee with the head-hunter, if he knew how he we found his name. Want more? Check out the 7 Secrets to Making Recruiters Find You.

When You Arrive at Your New Job You Are Still There Marla Gottschalk

When You Arrive at Your New Job â€" You Are Still There Marla Gottschalk My first full-time role after earning my masters degree, literally imploded one afternoon in a matter of minutes. Not that my relationship with the organization had any indication of going sour â€" it was a great entrance into the world of work â€" and began gloriously. Over my tenure, I was offered increased responsibility, earned a promotion and worked with a lot of great people. I felt it was my dream role. However, there was one colleague in particular, determined to make my ride a very bumpy one. (I was entirely unaware of the brewing competitive dynamic.) When all was said and done, I was left standing in front of my car, at 4:00 PM on a Friday with a box of my personal belongings. It was awful. I cried quite a few tears over that weekend. It took time (and work) to move through that experience. I listen to stories of work and career nearly every day â€" and if you listen closely, trends do begin to appear. One that I often see, is leftover emotions or associations from previous job experiences. Like other negative experiences outside of our work lives, you have to work through completely them before you can offer the next experience a fair chance. If something is left unresolved (whether related to a person or experience), it may rear its ugly head once again. Consider the following: Note the trends. If you find yourself getting tripped up in the same general area where you have experienced issues previously, acknowledge the pattern. For example, you find you lack trust in your co-workers/supervisor or you patently avoid presentations. Reflect. Be mindful and take a moment to see where the pattern may have originated. What negative experiences are re-surfacing? Were you criticized when making presentations and this now deters you from speaking in front of others? Were you treated unfairly in another role? Keep things in their place. As human beings we tend to draw similarities between situations and individuals that we meet. However, that dynamic can backfire. Your boss from your role 5 years ago may seem much like your current supervisor â€" however, they are not the same person. You can create new problems, by treating them as such. Share your concerns. Talk to your supervisor, mentor or trusted individual about your concerns. The only way to process the leftovers is to acknowledge the situation and speak of them openly. Make every effort to move through your obstacles â€" it is worth the time and trouble. Of course, we are all individuals. So, be patient with yourself. Hopefully as time goes on, youll find your career is back on track. Have you had this experience? How did you address it? Dr. Marla Gottschalk is an Industrial/Organizational Psychologist. She is the Director of Thought Leadership at Kilberry Leadership Advisors, Toronto. She is also serves as an Influencer at LinkedIn.

7 Signs to Look Out For If Youre Not Meant For An Office Job - CareerMetis.com

7 Signs to Look Out For If You're Not Meant For An Office Job Source : Pixabay.comThere are many comedic sketches that revolve offices workers who are simply bored out of their minds. And as you may be aware, some of these sketches revolve around the creators own personal experience.The hit sitcom The Officedrew in many millions of viewers during its original run. And that’s because series was incredible relatable to the audience. But let’s be a bit serious now.evalMany people leave school going into a 9-to-5 job based in an office. Some people prefer working in this environment. But others don’t. And if you’re having trouble imagining yourself working in an office for the next 30 to 40 years, then you might want to consider looking at other career options.In this post, I share 7 signs to look out for so you know that an office job is not for you:1. Clock WatchingThis is a very easy sign to spot. Rather than you putting 100% of your focus towards your actual work, you always have one eye on the clock situated on the bottom right-hand co rner of the screen And the next point will explain why you might be doing this in the first place.3. Not Feeling Any Enthusiasm For What You DoIf you find it difficult to wake up in the morning, let alone want to do any work, then chances are you have no enthusiasm for what you do. To put on a “fake” enthusiastic impression is tiresome, especially when you don’t mean it.But it is worse when you’re only one who isn’t genuinely excited by what you do at work. You soon become envious of those people who love their office jobs. And so you try to imitate them. But to no avail.4 You Want To Get Away From Your DeskBeing in an office job requires you to remain in a fixed seating position for a large majority of the day. Now there is a great deal of researchBut for you, not only do you feel agitated for sitting at your desk all day, you have this urge to get away from your desk. You cherish the time going to the photocopier or to the washroom If you daydream a lot then it might be worth considering a career in the creativity sector Are you currently working in an office environment and looking to change career?If so, what sector would you like to work in? Please let us know in the comments section below.

How a coloured envelope can make your thank you letter stand out - Margaret Buj - Interview Coach

How a coloured envelope can make your thank you letter stand out Want to make a lasting impression after a job interview and stand out from the crowd? Or even after you have actually received an offer of employment? Theres no better way to show your gratitude than by sending a personal thank you letter in a coloured envelope. Specialised printing websites offer you a wide variety of envelopes suitable for making a statement while remaining professional you can even personalise them. Buying online is easy and affordable, and you can order as many or as few envelopes as you need. With no need for a physical store, online printers can pass those savings on to you. So getting your hands on personalised coloured envelopes is easy lets discuss why it makes for a good idea to use them to send a post interview thank you letter. Mark Yourself Out From the Crowd No matter what job youre applying for, the odds are that you are not the only candidate a company or recruitment agency invited for an interview. Youre all vying for the same position, so anything you can do to help yourself stand out from the competition is advantageous. A personally written thank you letter, arriving in a professional but eye catching colour scheme, is an ideal way to do it. Remember, the interviewer has probably come face to face with a high volume of people and the extra reminder of who exactly you are could be the extra push you need to get ahead in their consideration. Keep it Short As for the letter itself, the main thing to remember is to keep it terse. The interviewer has already read your application (and those of others), so youre going to want to make sure youre as brief and concise as possible. Be blunt say that you are grateful for the opportunity of the interview, which you hope went well, that you look forward to hearing from them and that if they have any further questions of you that youd be delighted to answer them. A letter is also a good idea to send if you have been offered a position it helps you to get started on the right foot in your new workplace and will help reinforce to your employers that theyve chosen the right person. What It Says About You A post-interview letter shows that youre a conscientious individual whos able to think for themselves. It also indicates that youre an agreeable person who is going to be easy to work with and will fit well within the workplace such things can play on an employers mind so anything you can do to mitigate them will help you. Also remember that its ultimately just good manners and with coloured envelopes so easy and affordable to attain, it takes next to no effort.

Resume Writing Services - Why You Should Do It Yourself

Resume Writing Services - Why You Should Do It YourselfA job seeker can find a large selection of resume writing services MN. When a candidate's resume is to be written, he or she can either write it from scratch or they can hire professionals to do it for them. Either way, a candidate has the advantage of having fresh and relevant information about their career goals for every job opening, along with the option of writing an enhanced version of their resume.A professional resume is basically the text that describes and sums up all the achievements and qualifications of the candidate in a single document. It serves as a ground on which an employer will evaluate the candidate by looking at the text alone.The outline of a professional resume is a living document. It is very important to know the difference between the 'draft'updated' versions of a resume. If a resume is in draft form, it will not be read by the hiring manager; it will serve only as a starting point on which the employe r will base his decision.It is important to remember that many employers and recruiters are aware of the existence of specialized resume writing services MN. Thus, a resume that does not fit their criteria will be declined. Hiring professionals have access to hundreds of applicants and their resumes are well-edited and updated with the most recent information.Resume writing services MN are available 24 hours a day and 365 days a year. There are several places where one can look for professional resume writing services MN. However, it is recommended that candidates should choose local resume writing service providers that have been in business for a long time and can be relied upon to provide all the necessary resume writing services MN.Many candidates consider that if they use outsourcing services, it may decrease their chances of being hired for resume writing. While hiring professionals will certainly not be willing to divulge the true requirements of a particular company, he or s he can still review your resume and give you advice on what is best for your career goal. They will not try to offer suggestions that may not suit your profile but will rather be able to offer examples of resumes that have met the basic requirements.Resume writing services MN can also give you the suggestions on how to improve the skill and knowledge base of your resume. These recommendations can come from education, career path and experience that he or she has acquired during the course of his or her career.A professional resume writing service can also assist you with the development of a cover letter. The cover letter outlines the most suitable communication method that will prove most appropriate to a prospective employer.