Did you know that guest blogging is one of the best ways to find a job?
Blogs love guest posts because they get free content and the person that writes the actual blog post gets their name and website mentioned at the bottom of their article. Guest blogging is used to build traffic, market your business, and most recently, land a great job.
One of the biggest hurdles of job hunting is trying to stand out and separate yourself from the competition.
You may think your resume is award worthy but now a days the content of your resume isn’t enough to separate you from the 100+ applicants applying to every job.
After reading this article, you’ll know exactly how a guest post can separate you from the competition, personify an image of expertise, and land you that dream job.
Here are 3 secret ways to find a job by writing a guest post.
1. Add Value When Following Up
After applying for a job, you should always follow up to check the status of your application. The problem however is that a lot of job seekers send bland follow up emails like this one:
“Good afternoon. My name is John Doe and I recently applied for the corporate recruiter position at company ABC, I just wanted to check the status of my application.”
This is a weak follow up and can be improved in numerous ways.
Let’s say that you want to work in HR. You find a couple blogs in recruitment and human resources and ask them if you could submit a guest post. This is simple to do as most blogs have guest post guidelines or a “write for us” section.
Find blogs, inquire about writing a guest post, then repeat the process with other HR blogs until you get permission to write one. You can write a guest post between 400 – 600 words and there’s tons of blogs that would love some free content to give their readers.
Send inquiries to about 10 – 20 blogs, you should get a few responses giving you permission to submit a draft. Spend a couple hours and write something really great about your expertise or industry.
With a published guest post, you’re ready to follow up like a pro. Compare the previous follow up email with this one:
“Good afternoon. My name is John Doe and I recently applied for the corporate recruiter position at company ABC. I’m really passionate about what I do and recently published an article on Brazen Careerist called “10 Tips to Simplify the Recruitment Process
I’m just following up about the status of my application and want to make sure my name doesn’t get lost in all the resumes.”
You’re no longer just following up, you are adding value to yourself by giving proof. This is a big deal because most candidates simply tell employers they’re passionate, knowledgeable and enthusiastic. Don’t tell employers these things, show it to them with proof like a well researched article on your niche industry.
The whole concept of adding value to yourself is huge and isn’t limited to guest blog posts. Here’s a video I filmed that shows some great ideas on how to add value and really separate yourself from the competition.
2. Network
When you submit a guest post, you’re going to focus on blogs that are in your industry, niche or expertise. After submitting a couple emails, you’ll get a reply from a community manager asking to send the article you would like to write for review. After you submit a post, it’s time to go on LinkedIn.
Add the community manager on LinkedIn and explore their connections. This is a person that is involved in your industry and there’s a good chance they’re very well connected to influential people that can help your career. After a little bit of research, you should be able to find at least 1 or 2 people that you would like to connect with.
Send the community manager an email asking them if they could introduce you to one of their contacts. Explain to them that you’re looking for a job and wrote the guest post to help your job hunt. It’s almost unbelievable the responses you will receive. Most people like to help, especially when you’ve given them a great post to alleviate their workload. These community managers (some of them may even be the actual owners of the blog) will often go beyond the call of duty and take a proactive approach in helping you.
I would also recommend adding them on Facebook and using a handy site called Branchout to find some inside connections.
This is a genuine and simple way to network, add value to yourself and meet important people in your industry that will help your career.
3. Post it on LinkedIn
93% of hiring managers and recruiters check your online social media profiles before they even contact you. Most employers will be checking your LinkedIn profile and you need to make sure you leave them with a great impression.
Remember, proof of work is far more valuable than words. In fact, using proof is the second most popular way employers fill a vacancy.
That being said, make sure to post a link of your guest post in your summary.
LinkedIn added this feature to your summary because it’s incredibly important to showcase examples of your work, expertise or something that illustrates proficiency in your career.
A lot of job seekers don’t utilize this feature because they don’t believe they have any proof. Now you do, type a couple paragraphs for a guest blog post and there’s your proof of expertise.
After adding a link to your guest post, your summary section will look something like this:
Showing proof is an amazing strategy to get the attention of hiring managers. A guest post is simple, highly effective and can play a huge role in getting you hired.
Let’s Go!
There are thousands of blogs on every industry and interest imaginable. Think about it, all you have to do is write 1 good article and send a couple emails. It’s incredibly easy and depending on the strength of your article, you may get published on a really high profiled blog.
Have you ever written an essay in school? This is easier, it adds value to your follow up and significantly improves your LinkedIn profile. Brainstorm some ideas, grab a strong cup of coffee, and write your way to your dream job!
About the Author:
Jerry J Hunter is a job hunting guru and founder of Job Hunting University – JobHuntingU.com. He advocates that it’s not difficult to get a job in today’s economy if you simply know the best job hunting strategies of top performing job seekers. On his site, he reveals the best and most secret job hunting strategies in the world.
