4 Effective Ways Your Blog Can Benefit Your CV

We all have CV's, and sadly most of them are more than likely a little out of date, not very exciting and lacking in interesting information about ourselves. It's not that we don't want to share something about ourselves, we're just wired to think we can't get a little personal, but that's the snag. We can actually share something personal about ourselves that shows off in a much more positive light than lazy nights in with our cats ever could, and that's our blogs.

If you run and maintain a blog, you're missing out on great CV content!

Sure, you could talk about how you go running, or regularly train for country-wide swimming competitions, and they may make you sound outgoing and exciting, but that's really not what they want. They want to see your skills set, to see what you're capable of achieving and what you've already achieved. The best and easiest way for bloggers to do this is through their blogs.

Your blog is the perfect form of voluntary work experience, and it shines a light on you in ways you may never have none before, so for people you haven't got much on their CV's in the way of experience, or want to share something a little more fun and person, here's 4 ways your blog can benefit your CV and show off your skills, and why it's worth including it.

1 | Corresponding or Working with Professionals

No matter the type of blog you run, you will almost always end up creating professional relationships with people in the industry you blog in, whether it be stylists if you're into fashion, designers and coders if you specialise in web design, sponsors if you're looking into breaking through from hobby to paid work, or publishers, if like others you enjoy blogging about books. Mentioning that you've worked with these professionals in said industry can be highly beneficial, it shows that:

• you can create and maintain professional, workplace relationships
• you are comfortable and well educated in email or online correspondence
• you understand proper mannerisms and are grammatically fluent
• you are confident and not afraid of getting to know the people that will get you places

It's important to remember that in any working position, you will have to be confident, be professional and be able to maintain professional relationships, no matter your personal or emotional feelings at any given time. Working with professionals within your blogging experience can bring a lot of positive benefits.

2 | Social Networking/Marketing

As the internet continues to evolve, so do companies, and as they evolve, so does their use of social media and how they market themselves, their products or services, and their business. As somebody who runs a blog, (I would assume) you would already have plenty of experience in using social networks, getting the most out of SEO and promotion tactics and will have a broad understanding of marketing in the online industry. Mentioning this experience shows that:

• you are experienced in social networking and capable of advertising online
• you are flexible and able to to adapt along with social networks as they continue to evolve
• you know how to get the right product or service to the right audience, quickly and easily
• you are educated in online etiquette, language and understand the restrictions of social media

As the world continues to make use of the internet and social media more and more, the need for experience and education in this sector is increasing every day. Your experience, whether as a hobby or a part-time professional could just be enough to snag you that job ahead of your other competitors.

3 | Organisation, Planning and Scheduling

One of the most important and frequently given pieces of advice when blogging is the organise yourself, have a plan of action, and prepare and schedule your content. If you do all three of the above, you're well on your way to proving that your time-keeping skills are excellent, that you can work to a deadline, and that you always aim to finished and complete your work on time, to the best of your ability, at the highest quality possible. Organisation is possibly the most important of these three when consider your résumé, employers are looking for proof that you can organise yourself, organise others should the need arise, and that you're a tough bird to get flustered too easily. Using this experience easily shows that:

• you have impeccable time-keeping skills and can work within set periods of time
• you can organise yourself professionally and calmly, and are in control of the task in hand
• you can work to deadlines, complete tasks on time and ensure the work is of a high standard
• you take any amount of work seriously and understand the need for being punctual, professional and precise

These three skills are things many employers expect, but so many employee's take for granted when explaining what they're positively great at. Being tidy, on time and a little anal in organisation is only a good thing, and there's never anything to be ashamed of in admitting it.

4 | Passion and Dedication

If you claim to have no hobbies, or that you're pretty work obsessed, employers can take that as a positive, but many like to know that you have something away from home, that you are decidedly human in that you actually appreciate a break away. By having a hobby like blogging that you dedicate time, effort and pour love and energy into shows that:

• you're passionate about what you love, and enjoy sharing that passion with others
• you will put time and effort into something that you feel strongly about, no matter the rewards
• you have the ability to turn something you love and are passionate about, into a rewarding hobby
• you can create a positive space in which you work well, stay positive, and feel comfortable in

Passion and dedication for something, for anything, highlights that you're an exciting person, that you have things you absolutely love outside of your working life, that you take a task and make it as fabulous as it can be, and if you're in the right environment, you can work positively and enthusiastically, and if there's anything employers want, it's enthusiastic and hard working staff.

Bloggers: What skills have you gained through blogging?