2015 was the year blogging went mainstream. It used to be that bloggers kept their blogs hidden away from family or friends, to avoid questions such as 'why are you writing all your secrets to complete strangers?' and 'I don't get it- isn't it dangerous?' Yet now blogging is finally being understand as a legitimate form of media and us bloggers are getting the credit we deserve; with many of us placing it at the forefront of our CVs and using it to find new job opportunities. But what is it about bloggers that make them such good employers?
1. We are all about perseverance. Every blogger starts out in the same way: just them and a laptop wondering whether anybody will read what we're saying. And after we write our first post, what do we get?... silence. Yet still we persevere determined to make our way in the blogging world. Any blogger is fiercely proud of their stats- whether they are 100 or 100,000 views- they earned them. They're likely to apply this attitude to their work too and understand the good results don't come overnight.
2. We know how to network. In fact, we do it in our sleep. Bloggers have experience of doing all kinds of networking: from emailing brands, to hosting meet-ups and everything in between.
3. We are extremely hardworking. The vast majority of bloggers manage their blog alongside a full-time role. What does that demonstrate? That they're extremely motivated and hardworking- they continue to put the hours in outside of work- many do this for years and years before even attempting a career out of it.
4. We can meet deadlines. Bloggers are used to all kinds of deadlines- whether self-imposed blogging targets or must-meet deadlines from PR and brands. Which leads me nicely on to 5...
5.We've got organisation down to a tee. We know how to schedule everything: from our blog posts to our twitter shout-outs. We use our planners to schedule ideas for posts months ahead.
6. Our communication skills are top notch. Not only do we spend our days finding the perfect word to describe a certain shade of lipstick, we're just as experienced in drafting emails, pitching to brands and chatting with our readers.
7. We are social media experts. More and more businesses are now using social media to engage their customers yet us bloggers have been doing it for years now. We've already mastered Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest and know how to best use them to our advantage.
8. We can take criticism. The first time some anonymous user told us they didn't like our hair/make-up/face/voice/blog design, we did cry hysterically and threaten to delete our blog forever. But we got over it- and now we barely blink if someone calls us out on something we did. We listen and try to change if the criticism is genuine and shrug it off if someone's taking their bad day out on us. AKA The perfect person to diffuse office drama.
Jenna Farmer is a Healthy Lifestyle blogger over at www.abalancedbelly.co.uk