This is a guest post by Nadia Jones who blogs at online college about education, college, student, teacher, money saving, movie related topics. You can reach her at nadia.jones5@gmail.com.
There are many professionals today who have found themselves unexpectedly thrown into a career transition, even after years of high-level experience in their field. Whether less experienced professionals are bargaining to fill the same positions for lower pay, or their company has simply downsized, scores of talented professionals are now faced with finding new ways to profit from their skillsets. If you are currently looking for a new position, you may want to consider the benefits of establishing an online presence within your industry as a means to improve your chances of landing the job you deserve. Here are some ways to take your expertise to the next level online and turn a few heads in the process.
1. Start a Blog
The popularity of blogging exploded in the last decade, and for good reason. Bloggers who have something to say, especially to a niche audience, can find their readership expanding by the millions before they know it. In fact, blogging has been named among the fastest growing career paths today, and many bloggers do so full-time, bringing in enough AdSense dollars to make up an entire years’ salary. Running a blog is the perfect way to share your knowledge, connect to the people who are looking for it, and control every aspect of how you do so.
2. Tweet about Your Topic
If you have a blog going, or even if you don’t, you can expand your online presence by tweeting about industry-specific information. Choose a recognizable Twitter handle and start following experts and major players in your industry. Then start replying to tweets, tweeting your own thoughts, and asking questions. The more active you are on Twitter, and the more people you reach out to and follow, the more followers you will generate. This can help you make connections in many ways and build the value of your own personal brand when it comes to negotiating future work positions.
3. Post Videos
Along with blogging and tweeting, posting videos is another great way to provide expert information to an industry-specific audience. How-to videos, interviews, and opinion compilations are all the rage on YouTube, so if you have knowledge about your industry and would like to share it in an entertaining format, you may want to consider making your own videos. Try posting them to your blog or sharing them through Twitter for extra impact.
4. Be a Contributor
There are plenty of well-known online publications looking for people to occasionally contribute content about niche topics. Rather than searching for positions within your industry, try searching for positions writing or speaking about your industry online until another opportunity presents itself.