Recently I’ve fallen off the book blogging scene a bit. That’s because I picked up and moved up north to start my new job. My job that I wouldn’t have without book blogging.
Wait… what?
To rewind, my boyfriend has been working up north for a year while I stayed in Toronto at the administrative job I’ve had since graduating school. I made the decision to try and move up, but first I had to find a job. Let me say, this was not easy. The job market in a smaller town is hard. The cost of living is lower and so the salaries were lower. I remember attempting to negotiate salary with a possible position at a clinic to $6 lower than my current hourly rate, and the woman said ‘not even the technicians make that much.’
I thought I was going to end up doing the same job as before for less pay in a smaller place, and it was devasting. Then I saw an ad for a Social Media Administrator.
Where blogging comes in.
This was a job posting to work on social media in a marketing consultant business. I looked at the requirements and saw that line that kills so many dreams: education requirements. There are many ways my Linguistics degree helped me with my writing, including copywriting. But surely these people would want someone with a specialty in business or advertising.
But then I thought ‘why not?’ What’s the worst thing that would happen? I could assume they would pass over my application, or I could highlight my relevant experience. And what could be more relevant than my blogging and associated social media accounts? Writing content and sharing is what I do for fun after all!
Forming a plan and acting
I wanted this job and I was going to do everything in my power to get it. I decided to make a resume that highlighted by design skills and share a portfolio of what I achieved with my blog. I remember reading a blog post by someone about putting their blog on their resume, and I couldn’t imagine a time where I would. And here I was leading with it. My experience declared me a blogger and somehow I felt more proud of that title than the ones I gained with years of university education.
I got my application together and sent it. For anyone interested, below is a sample of what I sent off and what blogging experience I talked about.
Sealing the deal
There are few things more satisfying than being rewarded for hard work. So often we try our best and don’t see anything for it. And it’s devasting. Trust me, I’ve gone through it myself with my business. But this time was different because I had an interview. Then I had a job offer. And now I’m on the way to finishing up my third week working as a Social Media Administrator.
Which, PS, is super fun. And I feel like a creative!
The takeaway
It’s amazing to think of how much blogging has changed my life. Really changed it. Sometimes it’s hard to believe it’s only been a year. Since starting my blog I have a new career path, my own business, I’ve participated in and won NaNoWriMo, and met a ton of people who love to read. Book bloggers are seriously amazing!
For anyone who blogs or has another hobby, never doubt that what you’re doing isn’t important. Whatever you’re passionate about and work on is a skill. And those skills can help you get what you want in life if you dare to try.
How has blogging or another hobby impacted your life? Or pushed you to do something you thought you wouldn’t?
35 Comments
Vlora
October 23, 2017 at 3:42 PMThis is super interesting to me, because I’m looking for a job right now (it’s hard, man), and out of four interviews I’ve been asked how I spend my time online twice and they were both really interested in my blog. I’ve also published a post to my blog a while back where I asked people whether they include their blog on their CV and most people were a definite no, so I was uncertain. I don’t have a huge follower count so I’m never sure whether to include it on my CV or not, but I think it probably doesn’t hurt? Also, I totally get what you’re saying about being more proud of it than your other titles. It takes a lot of time, work and creativity after all! I think I may do some redesigning and then include it in the future.
Vlora
October 23, 2017 at 3:43 PMOh, also congrats on the job obviously!!!
ltlibrarian
October 23, 2017 at 3:49 PMAnd thanks! I recently celebrated my first full year working so it’s still working out well 🙂
ltlibrarian
October 23, 2017 at 3:48 PMUrg yeah job hunting is pretty much the absolute worst. As for including it on your CV, it 100% depends on the type of jobs you’re applying to. Because I was applying to a social media position, I suspected that creativity would be valued and that blogging was pretty much the only way I could show what I could do, as I didn’t go to school for it. I think if it’s relevant then you should definitely put it on your CV. I think it shows initiative that you created something and kept up with writing it and interacting on social media etc. So any job that’s focused on writing or social media is fair game to mention your blog. Even more so if you’re spoken about it to employers and they were interested.
Pingback:
March 11, 2017 at 7:08 PMResh Susan @ The Book Satchel
November 5, 2016 at 1:38 AMCongratulations on the new job!! I was away for a while, so may I say belated cingrats? I am sure you love the job since this is what you enjoy doing as well. Wishing you all success
ltlibrarian
November 12, 2016 at 10:59 AMThank you! It’s okay, I’ve clearly been away for a bit myself. It’s taking a lot of attention and I am really loving it! Thank you 🙂
Grace Osas
September 29, 2016 at 1:11 PMWhoa, this is incredible. I never knew it was possible to get a job this way…
ltlibrarian
September 29, 2016 at 1:51 PMNeither did I! But then it ended up working out and it’s been great
Pingback:
September 29, 2016 at 10:38 AMGeraldine @ Corralling Books
September 25, 2016 at 8:06 PMCongratulations! That’s wonderful to hear! I’ve been hearing a lot about how you should sometimes put your hobbies on your resume, if it’s relevant to the job you’re applying for, and it sounds like you did it and that you were successful! Great work, Liselle! <3
ltlibrarian
September 26, 2016 at 8:52 AMThank you! And it’s absolutely true. I think it’s hard to imagine an employer finding value in something you do as a hobby, but if it’s relevant and shows great skills then it’s worth it
Jeann @ Happy Indulgence
September 25, 2016 at 5:14 PMCongratulations on the new job, that is such wonderful news! You have certainly highlighted a lot of important ways blogging can help in your role and I personally include my blog on my CV as well. I hope you enjoy it, this is a great post to share!
ltlibrarian
September 26, 2016 at 8:50 AMThank you! And it is so worth it to include it if it’s relevant so I can 100% see why you would 🙂
Marie @ Drizzle & Hurricane Books
September 24, 2016 at 3:07 AMThis is fantastic news, CONGRATULATIONS! It’s so great to see how blogging can really take us far, and do wonders for us. I am hoping for that to happen someday for me as well. Thank you for sharing everything you wrote on your resume about your blog, this is very, very useful. Great job, and it’s SO awesome you’re having a great time at this new job. Wishing you all the best 🙂
ltlibrarian
September 25, 2016 at 11:44 AMThank you! And I’m sure it will with the right opportunity. I think even setting like Indeed alerts for positions you’re interested in and then examining them/applying is helpful. And I hoped that seeing the sort of things I put down would help 🙂
Greg
September 23, 2016 at 7:52 PMCongrats! That’s really cool to hear how you did that- and I do think blog experience is often overlooked in job like these. I think a lot of bloggers would like to make a transition like this and it’s inspiring to see that you did it!
ltlibrarian
September 25, 2016 at 11:46 AMThanks! It’s true, I think there are some companies that are less open to outside experience and want the schooling, but thankfully that wasn’t the case for me. I absolutely think they would, which is why I was hoping this story would make them see that it is a realistic goal and it can happen
ShootingStarsMag
September 23, 2016 at 10:18 AMCongrats on the new job! That’s so exciting. I’ve seen jobs like these in the past and I’ve always been really curious and wish I could apply, but I don’t have certain skills, which just means I need to work on them on my own, right? I love seeing bloggers go and succeed in other realms and knowing it started with their blog, or their blog helped. You have designers, authors, other types of writers, etc. I’d love to publish a book someday and if it ever happens, I KNOW I’ll have being a book blogger to help thank for that!
-Lauren
ltlibrarian
September 23, 2016 at 5:34 PMYou absolutely can work on them on your own. I think especially in creative fields it’s fantastic to have the academic education but experience can count just as much.
And it’s so true! It’s so cool to see people bounce off blogging into all these different fields.
Good luck with writing and publishing. It’s a hard industry but the community around it, I find, is so encouraging and helpful.
Kate @ Opinionated Book Lover
September 20, 2016 at 3:26 PMCongrats! That’s amazing. I just started using Hootsuite and WordPress with my second blog, and I love that I am learning things that are relevant to the job world. I love learning new things, and I love reading – so it’s nice to have married the two things even more with my second blog than with my original Blogger blog. 🙂
ltlibrarian
September 21, 2016 at 8:58 AMYes! It’s amazing how much you can learn once you start blogging and WordPress isn’t an easy platform to use either! I’m honestly so thankful for book blogging
Pingback:
September 18, 2016 at 2:25 AMJordon @ Simply Adrift
September 17, 2016 at 9:29 AMCongratulations! I am so excited for you! This is amazing that you made yourself a creative CV and it landed you a job you’re loving 😀 I definitely need to look into this more. I work in administration so it’s not very rewarding mentally and definitely not a career. What would be the worst if I just attempted this?
I love that you did this and it’s worked out really well for you!! 😀
ltlibrarian
September 17, 2016 at 9:47 AMI was working in admin too lol. And it was comfortable and I loved the people there but wanted to do something more creative. You should absolutely look into it! I think these days there’s a lot of focus on having the ‘right’ education but you’d be surprised how often people can still weigh experience and results they can see over that
La Fabulogiste
September 15, 2016 at 10:14 PMWow! It sounds like a dream!
ltlibrarian
September 16, 2016 at 7:55 AMPretty much. I still sit around at my desk a little bewildered haha
Akilah
September 15, 2016 at 10:10 PMCongratulations!
ltlibrarian
September 16, 2016 at 7:55 AMThank you!!
Tanya Patrice
September 15, 2016 at 8:28 PMCongratulations!!! You totally killed it!
ltlibrarian
September 16, 2016 at 7:56 AMThank you!! I’m pretty happy about it
Briana @ Pages Unbound
September 15, 2016 at 9:22 AMThat’s awesome! Congratulations! I see social media jobs and have generally assumed I would need “actual” experience with social media, or social media courses, to get one. It’s so great that you used your blog experience to get a new job!
ltlibrarian
September 16, 2016 at 7:58 AMI thought so too! But effort makes all the difference. They told me that fine stood out because it showed what I could do. That even ppl with design experience had plain applications. Kind of like with books, showing does a lot more than telling. I would for sure encourage anyone interested to put something together and try because you never know
Grace @ Rebel Mommy Book Blog
September 15, 2016 at 9:17 AMThat is so awesome! Congrats!
ltlibrarian
September 16, 2016 at 7:58 AMThanks!