6 Easy Steps to Identifying Your Blogging Niche - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

6 Easy Steps to Identifying Your Blogging Niche - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career Last week, I wrote about leveraging a blog for your personal brand. In the article, I said that one of the most important aspects of creating a blog is deciding on a specific topic â€" or niche â€" to write about. Whats your niche? But how do you decide on a niche to focus on? This can be hard for some people who have expertise and education in multiple different fields or industries. To find your niche, follow these seven easy steps: Write down your expertise, education, experience, and interests. Much like searching for a job, you’ll need “qualifications” and “skills” to write your own blog. Why should people listen to you? Choose a topic that you have interesting viewpoints or advice on in order to get people reading. Above all else â€" you need to choose a topic that you have a passion for! Being phony is not something you should do when blogging. Your audience will be able to tell if you don’t truly believe in your topic. Check out other blogs in your subject area. What are these blogs focused on? How can you make yours different than theirs? What advice are they lacking? For example, if you wanted to write about social media, there’s a lot of competition out there in terms of blogs. Do you have specific expertise in a certain part of social media? Are you a Twitter guru, or great at designing Facebook pages? Segmenting your expertise is key depending on your subject area. Write down all of your ideas for content. If your niche is too narrow, it will be difficult to come up with new posts every day or every week. If it’s too broad, it will be difficult to target a specific audience of readers. See how many topics for posts you can come up with and determine whether to tweak your niche from there. Research your audience. Will enough people be interested in your niche to read your blog? And what types of advice and expertise are they looking for? Search for keywords on Google and Twitter to see what people are saying. Understanding your audience is an important part of creating a niche blog. You may even want to monitor your audience for a few weeks before deciding on a topic that will be successful. Get started. Sometimes, it’s hard to determine what needs fixing until you start. Once you’ve begun churning out content, your readers will start commenting and leaving their opinion. You can also poll them on what types of advice they need. Listen to your audience. Read all of the comments on your posts. Search Twitter for what people are saying about your blog and posts. Truly listen and incorporate their feedback into your blogging strategy and topics. Blogging can be a great asset to your personal brand. However, it’s important to first identify a niche for your expertise so you don’t get lost in the noise of other more established and popular blogs. If you have a blog, what steps did you take when identifying your niche? What worked and what didn’t? Author: Heather R. Huhman is a career expert and founder president of Come Recommended, a career and workplace education and consulting firm specializing in young professionals. She is also the author of #ENTRYLEVELtweet: Taking Your Career from Classroom to Cubicle (2010), national entry-level careers columnist for Examiner.com and blogs about career advice at HeatherHuhman.com. Follow her on Twitter at @heatherhuhman.

The Essentials of an Athletic Trainer Resume

The Essentials of an Athletic Trainer ResumeIn the competitive job market, having a robust athletic trainer resume to make an impact is essential. The resumes are the first thing that employers look at and they want to see a resume that makes a statement about a candidate's potential.There are three basic things to include in the resume. In addition to the standard duties and responsibilities listed in the position, you also need to be able to tell what the applicant has accomplished. Examples of accomplishments are the number of patients treated, the length of time the position was filled, or the number of times the position was filled for any specific period of time. These should be listed under the skills, experience, and education section.While some treatments have already been established as a successful way to establish how athletics work, others will need to establish a completely new way to treat patients. To do this, include a detailed description of what has been done so fa r, and then suggest further research should the need arise. Use these examples in order to explain what you have learned as an athletic trainer.In addition to the skills and experiences that are listed in the job description, you also need to include the training and certifications that the applicant has had. How long the certifications have been in effect are vital pieces of information. If the certification was recently passed or if it has been in place for over five years, this is a strong piece of information. It can indicate a commitment to excellence.One other important part of the athletic trainer resume is your education. Whether you received a bachelor's degree or earned your associate's degree, this information should be listed in the resume. It is helpful to write this in the format of a curriculum vitae. An educational background is going to be a helpful indicator of your ability to provide top-notch care for the patient.If you have held a position for more than five yea rs, then you can start to write the athletic trainer resume as if you were applying for a position in the same location. Be sure to include information about previous positions in that location. Give a brief synopsis of the abilities that you would bring to the position. With this information, employers will know what to expect from you.When writing the resume, don't forget to write in a professional manner. As the past year has shown, you can be penalized when you submit sloppy and disorganized work. As an example, an athletic trainer resume should not be distributed via email. This is especially true if the recipient is seeking out positions in areas outside the area where the person worked before. Make sure to use proper spelling and grammar, and cite specific supervisors who can offer you references.Whether it is your first time writing a resume or you have worked with this document many times before, the job of writing an athletic trainer resume is much the same as any other. A little help can go a long way and will give you an edge over your competition.

Why Telling the Truth is a Powerful Career (and Life) Strategy - Kathy Caprino

Why Telling the Truth is a Powerful Career (and Life) Strategy I’ve been stunned lately with the power of telling the truth â€" the raw, uncensored truth.   It’s such a release, relief, and a joy to let the truth rip, rather than wasting so much psychic energy “spinning” the truth so that you project an image of doing better than you feel you are.   (Those of you who’ve seen My 52 Mistakes know I’m committed to telling the truth about my mistakes, as hard as that is.) I once knew a guy in my corporate life who, when asked, “How you doing, Fred? would answer, “Fantastic!”   Every single day, Fred responded that he was “Fantastic.”   God, I hated that.   How can you be fantastic every single day? I tried to figure out what was up with this man.   I asked my mom what she thought about it, and she said, “Anyone who’s happy every day is an idiot!”   Ha! In trying to understand Fred, here’s what I came up with all those years ago: Fred was perhaps: 1) a terrible liar, or 2) so distrustful of others and insecure he had to project a fake “fantastic” image, or 3) living life so superficially that every day was, in fact, fantastic or 4) living life so deeply that every day was, in fact, fantastic Whatever the case, I didn’t resonate with this man at all, or with his same fantastic daily response. Yesterday, I was talking to my awesome marketing advisor Krista Carnes of Booking Authors about my website, and I shared that over the past few months, I’ve heard people say this of my website: 1) It’s too professional â€" it intimidates me 2) You’ve accomplished so much, I don’t think I’m right for you (as a client) 3) How I experience you as a person (warm, compassion, approachable, caring, etc.) isn’t what comes across on your site I’ve always been confused about those impressions because clearly I’m sending out a vibe that isn’t me. I finally listened! Krista helped me see what I needed was to tell a bit more of the truth â€" about who I am, what I care about, what I’ve been through.   And in that telling of truth, those who are meant to connect with me as clients, friends and colleagues, will resonate with my words and find me.   So I revised the site again with more of my personal voice â€" which is an interesting mix of the highly professional but also the very human, flawed and honest.   I also shared my personal story of breakdown and breakthrough â€" which I realize many folks don’t know. (And wouldn’t you know I heard from three awesome women this very morning hoping to connect!).   And please let me know your thoughts about the homepage copy hows it ring for you? I work with women every day in all stages of their careers and businesses who want to tell the truth but struggle with how to do it, for fear of being rejected or judged negatively.   From corporate execs needing a powerful resume, to entrepreneurial women crafting marketing copy for their new programs, to creative folks deciding if they want to embrace Twitter and get their messages out there â€" we all want to tell the truth about who we are and what we love.   We’re just afraid. So let’s start communicating more of the real truth, but do it from a lens of positivity.   Tell the truth in a way that fits that facts  well but allows room for as much hope, energy, and compassion as possible.   Make sure you tell the truth of who you really are â€" inside and out whether you’re networking, speaking, writing, interviewing, or building clients and businesses.   And make sure that your lens focus isn’t set to “negative” to the exclusion of all of the amazing positivity your truth can reveal. When you do, your words and stories will attract what you long for most: the heart-aligned jobs, opportunities, clients, business, friends, colleagues who you really want â€" not a circle of people and experiences that leave you feeling alone and cold. I’d LOVE to hear from you.   PLEASE SHARE your comments below where are you not telling the full truth, and can you access the courage today to tell more of your truth, share more of the real story? Indeed, my friends, the truth will set you free!   Love ya

Do You Have A Laser-Precise Job Search Plan - Pathfinder Careers

Do You Have A Laser-Precise Job Search Plan - Pathfinder Careers Do You Have A Laser-Precise Job Search Plan? Well-known fact: Job searching and being unemployed can be one of the most discouraging and ego-smashing things a person could ever experience. Rejection is common, and there is a tendency to end up in a very unhappy place. Then, there’s the chaos. If you’ve previously been working for most of your career in a full-time position, you’re used to have the structure and routine to each day. Being out of work, you find yourself in a drifting miasma of What do I do today? Someone once told me: Looking for a job IS a full-time job. You need to adopt that mentality. Here are some suggestions on how to chart your course, add some structure to your day, and give yourself definable goals to give you that sense of order that you had within the workplace: 1) Appoint a Job Search ‘Buddy’ This person will be someone you report to on a weekly basis. This person will hold you accountable and be your ‘cheerleader’ at the same time. NOTE: Make sure that this person is someone who is a friend, mentor or colleague. Don’t rely on someone in your household… this could be a potential sticky wicket with family relationships if you somehow fall off the bandwagon and could lead to arguments! 2) Number of Articles to Be Read Weekly When you are unemployed or out of work, it is easy to feel that you are getting left behind on industry trends and issues. It’s amazing when you have a clear command of what’s going on in the world how easy it is to find opportunities to talk about what you’ve read or learned. 3) Number of Networking Events to Be Attended Weekly Shy? Get over it. The ocean is full of sharks right now, and you need to be one of them. That means getting out of the house, and getting out to networking events. Take a completely different approach: my friend Cleon Cox, who is the founder of the Portland Job Finders Support Group has this mantra which is perfect: Meet people, learn something, and have fun. 4) Number of Educational Events to Go to Monthly When you are not working, again, there is the fear that you are getting ‘off the merry-go-round’ and losing ground to competitors. But smart job searchers realize that there is a huge opportunity to be gained during this time: go take classes. This could be a great way to help catapult you into a new career, enhance your professional credentials, or hone your skills. 5) Number of Volunteer Hours Per Month Volunteering can provide exceptional opportunities to network, learn new skills, become a known quantity within an organization and even find out about industry or company job openings before they are even posted. Plus, you’ll feel good while doing it! 6) Number of Member Organizations To Belong To If you have a target industry, chances are that there is some kind of related trade association or membership organization that you could join. The benefit of these organizations is that your involvement can add gravitas to your credentials. 7) Number of Informational Interviews Per Week Part of the ‘getting out of the house’ aspect of this job search plan is to meet people… one-on-one in informational interviews. Many people mistakenly believe and take the approach that informational interviews are all about finding jobs. WRONG! Informational interviews are precisely about finding INFORMATION. The best part about informational interviews is that if you treat the person right who took the time to meet with you, they can become a great internal advocate for you. ALWAYS thank interviewees for their time by mailing a hand-written note. 8) Number of Friends To Talk To Per Week Who do friends know? People. Employed people. Don’t be afraid to reach out to your entire network. The key is to tap into your social circle and ‘refresh’ your connections. You never know what might happen. 9) Follow Up On Sent Applications One of the biggest failures of job seekers is that they are constantly looking forward for the next job opening to apply for that they don’t go back and follow up on the positions for which they’ve already applied. Sometimes, the position opening didn’t turn out to be the right fit for your skills. But if you treat the hiring manager or the human resource representative right, you could impress them in a very good way. That could put you on the “A” list for other jobs that come open. 10) Focus Your Resume on Key Themes You probably have several different theme areas that you could develop separate resumes for based on your background. Explore how you might have different incarnations of your resume, and take the time to develop these fully. You might be pleasantly surprised at how you can reinvent yourself and create new flexibility in your employment search. This blog seems like, wow, a whole lot of homework, but the goal is to provide structure, stability and goals to you in a time where there is a lot of chaos, unclear objectives and confusion. By structuring yourself and your time while unemployed, this will give you the sense of purpose you need and also a boost to feeling productive.

Suns Up on Your Job Search - Summer Job Hunting -

Suns Up on Your Job Search - Summer Job Hunting - Photo by Andedam Since this is a holiday week and represents the start of the summer season, I thought it would make sense to take the opportunity to post some compilations of tips to help you heat up your job search! If youve been putting off really launching your job hunt until the summer, the time is now! Dont wait around for the new year to get your job search in gear. This weeks blogs will include tips for general job searching, networking, resume writing and interviewing. Stay tuned! Keppie Careers will help you with every aspect of your job search. Need a great resume? A hot cover letter? Interview tips? Keppie Careers is here to encourage, enlighten and empower YOU! www.keppiecareers.com.

Who Else Wants to Learn About Writing about Abilities in a Resume?

Who Else Wants to Learn About Writing about Abilities in a Resume? Build each paragraph around an essential qualification writer professional cover application is related to the job for which you're applying. Before you begin writing an application, you are going to have to check whether the useful or chronological format can do the work right for you. Before you choose the proper format, it is vital to appear thorough the college resume illustrations readily available online. To begin, an individual should try to remember that there are essentially two formats for specialist letter writing. The Battle Over Writing about Abilities in a Resume and How to Win It If you are searching for work, don't rely on just a single process to discover jobs. Developing a great resume can feel like an overwhelming job but it doesn't have. The exact last thing you plan to do can be get a job which you cannot do. In today's competitive world, despite the fact that it appears challenging to o btain the fantasy job, by simply knowing some techniques and taking extra efforts, you are able to make your dreams come true. You need to search for an amazing sales copy copywriter and discover out under him. The particular very last thing you plan to do can be receive a job that you cannot do. You aren't very likely to acquire the job if you cannot be contacted pertaining to an interview, plain and easy. Try to remember the very first hurdle you want to pass when getting your fantasy job is to become invited to an interview. Most Noticeable Writing about Abilities in a Resume With a fantastic CV, you could possibly be in a position to make it to an interview for a new position. Way too many resumes are in reality wordy and difficult to follow. To use a resume to compose a CV, it is quite important to come across many examples that provide the relevant specifics. The Fight Against Writing about Abilities in a Resume You've read the requirements but you don't know how t o compose the resume. With a Indeed Resume you're able to produce your abilities and encounter obvious to employers and supply them an effortless remedy to get in contact with you about relevant jobs. Employing a Indeed Resume you're in a position to create your capabilities and experience visible to employers and give them an effortless approach to talk to you about relevant careers. With a Indeed Resume it's possible to create your capabilities and experience visible to employers and give them an effortless remedy to talk to you about relevant jobs. The absolute most important section of your resume can become your work experience. There are many issues for pupils to make a first-class appearance in schoolroom because of poor writing abilities. Well, you may try to create a resume now and then attempt to obtain a job for a community manager. You would like to get noticed due to your abilities and experience instead of excessive attention-grabbing structure.

What You Dont Know About Writing a Technical Resume Could Be Costing to More Than You Think

What You Don't Know About Writing a Technical Resume Could Be Costing to More Than You Think The Bad Side of Writing a Technical Resume A well-crafted cover letter may be highly effective job search tool. A CV should at no time be shortened or summarized. When an applicant doesn't have enough keywords from the work listing in their application, the candidate may be eliminated. Hopefully, you presently have a LinkedIn account. Lies You've Been Told About Writing a Technical Resume IT business analyst functions as a bridge between the customer and software engineers. Technical writers should put money into an internet presence, but they don't necessarily should shell out money on online advertising. For example, if you're writing an MS CRM technical consultant resume, make sure you highlight your negotiation abilities and business acumen also. You will get a resume expert! Here's What I Know About Writing a Technical Resume Additionally, you can get open communication wit h your writer throughout the whole process. Now look at your information technology resume. Technical skills, education, and expert experience ought to go in the order which best conveys your preferred message. In the example of Information technology resumes, you will need to emphasize the technologies where you possess an expertise. What the In-Crowd Won't Tell You About Writing a Technical Resume You have to comprehend how to compose romantic love letters. How to research keywords so that you have a fantastic idea about what words and phrases will probably be utilised to score your resume. Learn how to research the most essential buzz words in your industry so you may write a highly targeted document which gets noticed by employers whether it's scanned electronically or human reviewed. Uploading to our resume database requires you to make an account. Employing dedicated small business banking and credit accounts is critical for individual asset protection. Why Almost Everything You've Learned About Writing a Technical Resume Is Wrong Always attempt to meet the individual and apologize after you have sent out the letter. You've got to close the letter with a various sincere apology. So, you have to understand how to begin writing an apology letter. Writing an apology letter is quite straightforward. There are some quite specific requirements for formatting your resume when it is going to be reviewed by means of an ATS. Below, you will also discover some guidelines for resumes aiming for particular tech positions. Even if your information is in bullet format, it may still be tough to quickly recognize the pertinent abilities and accomplishments which are important to the prospective employer. You should also make bulleted lists to neatly summarize key details. The Do's and Don'ts of Writing a Technical Resume Regardless of what industry you're based in or what position you're applying for, we will be able to help you land your dream job . In addition, an objective statement is no longer required and usually only necessary if you are in possession of a specific, unwavering aim of which you should produce the recruiter immediately aware. You want to land work. Choosing the acceptable status as you search for jobs will usually rule out jobs you're not eligible for, but remember to read the WHO MAY APPLY section of the job announcement carefully to ensure you are ELIGIBLE. For instance, if you developed a particular application that saved your company X period of time, or millions of dollars, brag about doing it! You should also think about employing a registered agent service to help safeguard your privacy and keep compliant. For example, if you created a program for a neighborhood non-profit to deal with donor info, that's something which's related to include on your resume. Next ensure use of good resume keywords.