More demanding in terms of time and efforts, writing articles on the realities of your field of expertise can really help you out of anonymity. The first thing that many people will face is their impostor syndrome. “I do not have the authority to write on this topic.” Nobody will give you permission! Besides, nobody will come to save you either. Yes, it can be scary to write, to face criticism, and to risk being contradicted by people who may have more expertise than you.
If you are determined to adopt a growth mindset, this should not stop you. Make short experiments. Start with topics you master very well. Create articles from experiences you have lived. No one can contradict you about what you gained your experience. An easy way to start writing is to draw inspiration from one of your professional pains. Did you solve a problem that bothered you? Write what you did! It will inspire others who are in the same situation, and if people with more experience read your article, they can even give you great advice. It’s a win-win situation.
LinkedIn articles, or blogs like mine, can be great business cards. Very often, in concluding a discussion with someone I have just met, I offer to send them 2 or 3 articles I wrote, because I referred to them in our discussion. And I do it with recruiters as well. Besides the articles, you do not have to limit yourself to writing. If things work out for you, nothing prevents you from making videos, or even a podcast! All of this is easily accessible nowadays.
What will it bring you that your resume won’t
In the long run, a notoriety. And certainly a very competitive advantage. Imagine someone who is recruiting, and who has two candidates with the same number of years of experience, but that one of them wrote 32 relevant articles on his expertise… This makes the choice a lot easier to do, not to mention everything you could bring to the company to showcase their corporate brand with your writings. I lost track of times people wanted to meet me after that experiment where I put my network at the service of job seekers, or after the publication of my Practical Guide To Becoming A Terrible Manager. In this case, it is your experience and your storytelling that work for you.
d) Publish a book?
I say this in the most naively way in the world, and under all reserves, it is an area in which I’m slowly making my first steps. If you can write articles and it works, what stops you from going further? For me, it was a challenge that I gave myself last year, to start writing a book in 2019. I am currently studying how to approach this adventure. I intend to publish “The practical guide to becoming a terrible manager, and how not to be that guy” or something along those lines…
Nowadays, self-publishing is more accessible than ever. We do not necessarily need to convince a publisher (even if it helps a lot) to publish our writings. And we do not even need to print copies in advance, e-books are popular, and many platforms offer print-on-demand options. In addition, a book does not have to be very long, even between 100 and 200 pages, it remains a book. I will refine this part of the article when I have completed the experiment myself. But the idea is not to stop at what you know. Innovate. Do what others don’t dare to do! How many people can boast of having written a book?
What will it bring you that your resume won’t
You should probably include this in your resume. But I do not need to draw you a picture. A recruiter can choose between two candidates with equal experience, but one of them has written a book about his area of expertise. It’s… significant, to say the least.
5. Impersonate your expertise
Definitely an approach that requires a good mastery of your impostor syndrome, and that will tap into your growth mindset. If writing articles and spreading your expertise is no longer too much of a challenge for you, maybe it’s time to put yourself a little more at risk, and begin to personify your expertise. By this I mean to start giving workshops or giving lectures. To become the face and voice of your expertise. Its figurehead. And it does not have to be a very painful or abrupt learning. You could simply begin by organizing a meetup style event, with the help of one or two people from your network.
Many events in the recruiting field often look for volunteer speakers to tell their story. You can contact teachers to discuss the possibility of talking in front of their class. There are plenty of ways to make yourself known in this way, and the only person who can stop you from doing it is yourself.
In conclusion
Whether you are an atypical candidate, or simply a job seeker expert at being interviewed, you should not lose hope. Just because recruitment in its current form does not benefit you does not mean it will always be as such. By daring doing something new to stand out, you will never be a mere victim of “not having been chosen” just because you have agreed to comply with a recruitment system that requires you to be passive and simply smile, except when it’s time to perform in an interview.
No one is forced to be a victim in this job market, and by taking charge of your professional brand, you position yourself much more as an actor in your professional life. Have you tried it? Do you feel that a new world is opening before you? It may be the result of your career turning antifragile!
I end with a quote that inspired me a lot as I started working on my professional branding myself…
Work until you don’t have to introduce yourself anymore.
