Creating Content to Impress Potential Employers

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Many of you are looking for new jobs. But are you trying everything you can to attract your dream opportunities and employers? Are you doing more than just applying to job ads online?

I talk a lot about creating content and have spoken to several experts about how to do that consistently on my live-streaming show Inside Scoop. But my conversation with executive coach and career strategist, Susan Peppercorn, was a more in depth look at using content to strategically attract the professional opportunities you want.

Here are four ways to create content to impress potential employers.

1) Expand your definition of content.

Often when people think of content creation, they think of videos. But content can be anything – videos, photos, writing, being on a podcast, etc. Create the kind of content that makes sense for you and the jobs you want.

“Content enables you to share your knowledge with a potential employer in a way that your resume and cover letter don’t,” Susan said.

An application with a strong resume and cover letter is good, but those plus a strong online presence demonstrating your knowledge and expertise through content similar to the company you’re applying to, is stronger.

2) Share what you know.

It probably goes without saying that you shouldn’t share false information or present yourself as an expert on something that you don’t know much about. But you probably know more about things than you give yourself credit for.

“What scares off a lot of people is they may see it as self-promoting, but it really isn’t about self-promotion at all. It’s really about sharing your knowledge in a way that other people can benefit,” Susan said.

Self-promotion can be intimidating, but you don’t have to make a video of yourself promoting your business if that’s too much. Start with something simpler.

“Start by commenting on what thought leaders have written about. If there are people that you admire in your field, find them on LinkedIn, see what they’re writing about, and then write comments back to them about what they’ve written about,” Susan suggests. “Or find an article that you found interesting, repost that article with your own comments about what you think is interesting or innovative,” She added.

I create content all the time and I still do that.

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3) Target your dream employers.

This starts with a list! It’s not enough to target a kind of employer. Make a list of specific companies and learn as much about them as you can. Then create content that falls in line with what they do.

“Find groups on LinkedIn that focus in the areas you’re interested in and start discussions in those groups and post an article. Find those employers and start commenting on their posts. That’s a way to actually target the employer and share your knowledge at the same time,” Susan said.

I’ve seen this strategy work for people. It can lead to freelance projects with the companies they’re interested in first and then eventually to full-time positions.

Another great way to target potential employers and gain visibility is to reach out to conferences. “Every industry has conferences. Offer to speak on a panel or submit to host a speaking engagement at a conference on a topic that you’re knowledgeable about,” Susan said.

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4) Exercise patience when waiting for results.

This comes up so frequently, but I will say it again, consistency is key. Posting one video or article won’t change your life. But doing it regularly can. And according to Susan, the magic number is:

Three times a week.

That might feel like a lot, but it gets less intimidating with a list!

“Create a list of the content for yourself and put together a plan,” Susan said.

Getting organized with a list and being realistic about the kind of content you can post three times a week is a great way to get started.

If you’re interested in using content to impress potential employers, watch our entire conversation here, and download Susan’s free guides to help in your career search here.

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