How to Reinvent Your Career Path After a Layoff — Step 2: Get Comfortable with the Social Web

Job Search, Networking, Resume and LinkedIn

Note: For the first post in this series, “Step 1: Attitude Adjustment,” see here.

Branding is for Cows

Like everyone else who’s shell-shocked from losing their job, after losing mine, I read a lot about how I had to go out there, get into social media and build my brand.

To say the least, I was skeptical. It just seemed like a lot of marketing hype. And “branding” — what does that mean, anyway? The concept seems so inauthentic.

I’d rather phrase it this way: How do you build a path for what you need to accomplish?

In the beginning, it’s very confusing. There are lots of possible roads forward, and the right one for you may be different than the one I chose. But I’m hoping it will help you on your own journey if I share how I created a stronger sense of who I am, what I have to offer and how I was able to put it “out there” successfully.

If you’d rather call that branding, so be it. Either way, your goal is to discover who you are, what you have to offer and how to communicate that so you stand out from the crowd and get what you’re looking for. (Click here to tweet this thought.)

My journey led me to reinvent myself, re-launch as a writer and — with the help of social media and networking — get hired.

Why I Thought Social Media Was for People with Nothing Else to Do

I’ve always been serious about my work, tried to do my best and built a strong network as a freelancer for the 25+ years I did that. Then, eight years ago, I was made an offer I couldn’t refuse and started my first full-time job. I thought I was done with freelancing and let my network drift apart.

That turned out to be a dumb move, because I was laid off at the end of 2012.

When you’re a freelancer, you learn some things right away:

You have to become an instant team player –- fit in, keep your head down, do your job and deliver the goods.
You have to learn how to be a good communicator, put other people at ease and make them feel you’re there to help them solve their problems.
In their eyes, you’re only as good as your performance on your last job. You may or may not get a “thank you,” but you will certainly get “what have you done for me lately?”
You learn to become task- or goal-oriented, work quickly and do excellent work. That’s the best guarantee to being hired the next time someone is looking for a hired gun (which was how I saw myself).

One thing I didn’t learn? How important an online presence can be for your career.

Facebook? I wasn’t interested in all those posts about cute kids, weird cats or great places for mojitos, although I did post to it once in a while. I didn’t “get” LinkedIn. It seemed like a boring version of Facebook, so at first I discounted that, too. Twitter? Forget about it. I don’t care about Jennifer Aniston (sorry, Jennifer) and thought it was all about celebrity-watching. (And what can you say in 140 characters, anyway?)

Email was my medium of choice, and I’d send email blasts to friends every now and then when I had something to say. But social media? Big waste of time…and I was far away from being a 20-something.

Then I got laid off, and everything changed.

How I Became a Social Animal

It started with blogging. Back when I still had a job, my boss wanted a company blog, and I volunteered to do it. I thought our company blog should be about cool things other people were doing with video on the Web (we were a video production company). That’s what I wrote about, thinking it would make us cool by association.

Well, that wasn’t what my boss had in mind at all. He wanted something more obvious and un-volunteered me. I was upset; it was really fun, and I liked doing it. My wife said, “Just write your own blog,” so I did.

I used Blogger, which is super easy to use, and wrote about cool stuff that other people were doing with video on the Web. I didn’t really know much about blogging, but it didn’t matter because it was mine, it was fun to get the feedback, and I could write about whatever tickled my fancy. TheVisionThing was born.

About six months later, my boss cut my salary. To make up the difference, I figured I’d try to get freelance writing gigs on the side. I thought about how to make that happen and realized I needed my own website. My plan was simple: I’d call up my old freelance network and pitch myself as a writer. If they wanted to see samples of my work, they could go to my website.

A few years ago, I had struggled mightily to make a simple website for my brother’s band, which was a time-consuming, frustrating and very unsatisfactory experience. So I decided to hire a Web designer and asked colleagues for recommendations. I did what everyone else does when they want to hire someone — I asked for recommendations and used them as a basis to start my search. I looked at lots of websites by those designers and found one I really liked. It was clean, simple and professional. So I went with that designer.

Building a Website: An Overview

Here’s what I wanted:

A domain name of my choosing. A lot of cool options were already chosen, so I ended up just using my name, danbailes.com. I expected to directly market my writing services, so the site would be there for people to check me out — or find my blog. The blog ended up being much more important, but more about that later.
The ability to revise the copy myself once the site was up and running.
The ability to add samples, including video, to my site as needed.
The ability to continue writing my blog and have everything in one place. My designer moved my Blogger blog to the new site.
Her availability as needed to consult or make changes if I couldn’t manage something myself.

Here’s how I prepared for my launch:

I met with a friend who writes marketing copy professionally and has his own website and blog and asked for advice. I mulled it over, then wrote copy for my fledgling site and sent it to some other friends — business owners and marketing professionals — to get their feedback. I revised it several times, tightened it up and then sent it, with a bunch of possible images, to my Web designer. She built the site using WordPress.

WordPress lets me do everything on my list. It’s a little more complicated than Blogger, but I’ve been able to do most of the site changes and enhancements myself. That’s been invaluable, plus it’s a very useful skill.

Do I know coding, or am I a techie? No, not at all. But I’ve taught myself enough to be comfortable and do what I need to do. I have go-to people if I get in over my head. I’ve also learned something very valuable: people like to share what they know, so don’t be shy about asking for advice or help. Maybe sometime you’ll be in a position to help them; you never know.

So, Blog, What Have You Done for Me Lately?

There are millions of blogs out there, so why add to all the noise? Here’s why a blog can be invaluable:

Think of it as an expertise demonstrator. Your blog can show off your skills, experience and know-how.
It makes you current and shows you’re comfortable as a Web communicator.
It gives you a sense of accomplishment. My blog was an important touchstone for me while I was pursuing my job search. I would write a new post every week; I approached it like a freelance assignment, and that way, I had something positive I finished and sent out every week.
It’s a great way to reach out to friends and colleagues to subtly remind them you’re still out there. It’s something they might share with a colleague or “like” or tweet about. All of those help build your presence on the Web.
It’s like having an agent. A blog is a soft way of promoting yourself. If I felt shy about talking about “me,” I could always talk about the blog. It took on a life of its own.
It also connects you to people you don’t know. If people like your blog, they’ll share it, and before you know it, you’re connecting with people all over the world. Connection is what your job search is all about.
You can get wonderful feedback from friends and colleagues. I can’t tell you how many times people would say, “I really like your blog.” That’s a great ego booster when you’re spending a lot of time in your job search facing rejection or, worse, no response at all. Plus, it reminds you that you’re on the right track.

Help Along the Way

Searching the Web for a blogging guru, I ran across Blogging With Amy. She’s changed her email blast since I signed up, but all the old stuff is there in her archives, and it’s simply great. She writes well, is easy to understand and seems dedicated to helping you do a better job with your blog. I’ve found her advice invaluable and would definitely recommend her.

I also took some workshops in SEO, or search engine optimization, and put those techniques to use. (WordPress has a plugin that helps you through the process.) SEO helps people find you on the Web and build a stronger presence for your blog or website.

It’s always a challenge when you don’t work in a particular industry to grasp that way of thinking. But motivation and determination are great educators. If you make something important, you’ll put in the time to master it — or at least do well enough that you get what you need.

Lessons for Beginning Bloggers

Write about what you know.

I chose not to write about myself, because that gets old pretty quickly (and, frankly, who cares?). I also chose not to write about popular culture or politics. There are plenty of others writing about that, and unless you have an inside track, again, who cares?

Here’s the key: find something quintessentially you and focus on that. Blog about something you care about, because otherwise you won’t keep at it.

Also key to keep in mind:

Plan to be in it for the long haul. It takes a long time to build an audience. Think months and years, not days and weeks.
Give us your own take on your subject. Let it flow out of your own experience. So many blogs are in the “how to” realm. If that’s what you want to do, find a way to make your “how tos” different from the rest of them.
Try to post consistently. Writing every day is too demanding, once a month too infrequent, so find a happy middle ground like once or twice a week. You can always write a bunch of posts at once and then schedule them over a period of time.
Learn about SEO and use it. It will help your blog gain more notice.
Use advice from blogging sites like Blogging With Amy to enhance your blog and make it more noticeable across the Web. There’s plenty of advice out there; find some blog gurus that speak to you and take notes.
When it comes to writing, less is more. Edit and re-edit until your posts are punchy and tight.
Check for spelling, punctuation, grammar, etc. Your blog represents you — be conscious of how you come across.
Use images, and choose them carefully. People are drawn to visuals. There’s plenty of free stuff on the Web, but be mindful of copyright.
Pay attention to tone. Don’t be preachy or act like a know-it–all. You can be wise without being self-serving. Write in a way that’s welcoming and invites people in to share your insights.

Stay tuned for my next post in this series, in which I’ll discuss my next step in my reinvention journey — getting my name out there and networking.

Have you been wary about social media or blogging? How could you embrace it for your career? Comment below to join in on the conversation!

Dan Bailes creates killer copy, standout blogging and powerful but graceful video — wielding his keyboard to enhance brands, motivate audiences, celebrate heroes and inspire change. Blogging about innovation, creativity and vision on TheVisionThing, he can be found at danbailes.com.