Want to Stand Out in Your Career? Don’t Overlook this LinkedIn Resource

If you want to show off your professional expertise, LinkedIn can give you a platform to do it. Called Pulse, it offers users a place to publish articles that will have a potential audience of some 433 million people.

It’s a great way to network and also to show potential employers what you have to offer, as well as raising your standing in your profession. But if you are new to this type of thing, it might be a little difficult getting started. For example, what should you write about? How should you write about it?

1. Planning

The first thing to do is consider your purpose in writing – why do you want to write? What are you trying to achieve with your articles? Is it to simply share your knowledge, or to interest recruiters, or to network, or to move into a leadership position within your profession? Establishing purpose will help you to determine what and how to write.

The second important thing to consider is your audience. Who are you writing for? Others in your field? Potential clients? The general public? Recruiters? This again will help you to narrow your focus.

2. Writing

There is no magic bullet to writing an article. It takes work like anything else. You need to decide on a topic and a point of view toward that topic. If you are having trouble coming up with ideas, think about what is going on in your profession. What are the trends? What will it look like in the future? What career lessons have you learned? Is there an event in the news that you could peg your story on? What is new and innovative in your field?

Look at what others have written. This can also give you ideas.

Before you start to write, you may want to jot down a brief outline that may help to guide you. But keep in mind that an outline is only tentative – you can change things as you go if needed.

Then just dive in and start writing. Don’t be too concerned about style or how polished it is. That will come later. The purpose of your first draft is simply to get your ideas on paper. In drafts that follow, you will refine your thoughts and your arguments and polish your prose. Some writers have described the process as making a mess and cleaning it up.

After you have finished, show your article to a friend or colleague and ask his or her opinion – did he find it interesting, was it easy to understand, was anything not explained well, was it well organized? Then make changes as needed.

If you want to jump start your career with a new job, Arrow Staffing can help you. Arrow is one of the leading staffing firms in the Inland Empire, providing skilled services to those looking for employment. Give Arrow a call today.

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