I have my dream job. Of course, I don’t believe there is just one dream job but a series of great jobs that we enjoy and learn from. My goal has always been to work in public relations, representing dynamic and exciting clients. Landing it took a lot of work, I’m not going to lie, but it was totally worth the effort.
Want to know my secret? It’s guest blogging and developing your online reputation. I found there’s tremendous value in creating a strong and professional virtual presence. I established myself in the field by contributing on relevant and important blogs in the industry. I also created my own blog in this niche to help me get the job I wanted.
Read on for my top tips on how you, too, can land your dream job by guest blogging and shoring up your Internet rep.
A quick caveat before we begin, putting yourself out there on the Internet can have just as much risk as opportunity. Say the wrong thing, lose your temper because of a harsh comment or have a humorous tweet go wrong can ruin your reputation. Take the time to think before you post and see if what you have written will have any repercussions.
1. Start Small
You don’t go to the Olympics after three skiing lessons. You also shouldn’t pitch a major blog if you don’t have experience guest blogging on other sites. Target smaller ones at first and work your way up to bigger ones. For example, since I wanted to get a job in public relations I made it a goal to write for sites like Spin Sucks and PR Daily. Before I approached them, I wrote on smaller communication sites like Get In Front Communication and Hot in Social Media to build up my writing samples. Susan Young, my contact from Get In Front Communication, was actually the one who introduced me to the editor at PR Daily.
2. Zero In on Online Influencers
You should know the big players in your industry and have at least one as a role model for your career. Create a list on Twitter and constantly see what they are up to in their fields. Read their case studies and award winning campaigns. Tweet and ask their opinions on issues. Their advice might make a great quote in one of your blog posts (make sure to tag them when it’s published so they can see you used their advice). Comment on their blogs. See where they concentrate their digital footprint and try to do the same.
If you have a particular company or agency you want to work for, ask to contribute an article to their blog if they have one. Many communication agencies have blogs, but even other industries you might be interested to work in, like construction companies, have blogs that are open to accepting guest posts. Make sure the article is of the upmost quality and submitted ahead of schedule.
3. Do Impeccable Work
This might be my single most important tip, especially if you are writing for a potential employer. If you provide great articles on time, not only will you receive leads for other authorships but also job opportunities. Additionally, employers are more likely to hire someone they already know can produce great work on a consistent basis than a random stranger. You just have to prove to them through the quality of your thought-provoking content that you are worth their investment.
4. Share, Share, Share!
Part of the point of guest blogging is to gather followers and fans of your writing. When you write a guest post, share it across all your social networks several times. Be sure to vary the text and hashtags of your comments or tweets to make it interesting to a variety of your followers. You may just grab the attention of someone who does the hiring.
Social media is a great free tool for you to use to shape your online reputation. Take full advantage of our virtually connected world in order to build your contacts and establish credibility.
5. Create a Unique Voice
What will distinguish you from everyone else in the digital world is your unique writing voice. Brian Solis and Seth Godin are great examples of bloggers who’ve accomplished this. While you may think that is just because they are experienced in their field and one so young can’t expect to be able to have that kind of voice—not true. My friend Jon Negroni, right out of college, established a strong writing voice that has brought thousands of readers to his blog and a few awesome opportunities for him. You’re never too young to start looking for your voice and interjecting your opinion.
6. Find Your Niche
While we all should be well-rounded, it is important to specialize within a field. Your niche in PR could be in design, research, writing, media relations, video, strategy, social media, or even just organizational skills. Whatever niche you choose, constantly study and write about it. Better yet, do your own original research on that niche.
It doesn’t take a lot to send out a survey or even put together a focus group. Make sure to record your method, findings and theories and then share them on your blog. In college, I worked with a professor to do a survey about users’ habits on Pinterest, which was a new social network at the time. I used that research for an honor’s thesis about third party endorsement, which was later published by the Association for Business Communication.
7. Keep Track of Your Biggest Hits
Record how your best posts perform. Track the ones that go viral and talk them up when you’re applying for jobs. My strong online presence and my research on Pinterest were two of the main contributing factors that landed me a dream job.
ABOUT ALICIA LAWRENCE: Alicia Lawrence is a content coordinator for WebpageFX and blogs in her free time at MarCom Land. She’s a frequent contributor to Lifehack, PR Daily, and Muck Rack. Connect with her on Google+.