Happy Thanksgiving!

 

                Happy Thanksgiving Blogger family! I am thankful that you’re reading this and I still have an audience after all of these years. I do not take it for granted.

                This 2024 I am thankful that things are finally turning my way. I see the light at the end of the tunnel. I am grateful that I am receiving many more opportunities. It is like I have finally found what works.

It has been hard acquiring skills, doing interviews, writing many blog posts, content creation. You name it. I have done it since 2018 in Washington, DC. The 2020 pandemic has made things weird; however, I have managed to learn new skills, meet new people and have a new perspective.

                The things that I have learned while here in Cleveland have made me appreciative of never quitting, always doing self-assessments and continuous improvement.

                That continuous improvement spills over to my writing. Even in a world where video rules supreme, writing has always been important. I’ve always prided myself on my English language skills and written communication. Especially as someone who is an economist and in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics), communicating to non-tech audiences have been huge in my book.

                I see myself thankful for my Blogger family. I am continuing to blog on this account well beyond when I return to DuPont Circle because why quit now 19-20 years in it? You keep me going and I thank you for this.

Why I’m Now Returning Back to Blogger

 Hey everyone. I know that I have been posting some more here in 2024. I want to let you know why I’m now returning back to Blogger to post.

                Well, a lot has happened in 2024.

·         Graduated from Tri-C

·         Saw momentum in my job search

·         Started going outside more

Graduated from Tri-C

I decided to go back to Tri-C in 2022 because I needed to learn more skills to update myself. I received my MBA in Marketing in 2002. There were no cloud computing, streaming service or Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram or TikTok. Imagine how different the world is 20 years later. I received my AA in Applied Business May 2024. Check out my graduation photo below.

Saw Momentum In My Job Search

I also am seeing more movement in the job search. The past couple of years, it feels like the pandemic with everything shut down. However, I am happy to have kept learning and professional development. I will say that right now in 2024 both tech and non-tech companies are favoring applicants that are technical with soft skills.

Started Going Outside More

I took my AWS AI Practitioner certification exam at a testing center. It had been 2 years since I set foot in one (to pass my ISC2 Certified in Cybersecurity because ISC2 mandated in-person testing). However, getting out there and pressing the flesh make me improve my communication skills. I passed my AI Practitioner exam but this led me to get out more.

PS – I still love doing mainly online things because they save time; but, I may have to get out more.

What Does This Mean For You?

It means more experiences and blog posts. I will be on here with much more content. Thank you for sticking with me. 

Blog to Brand Part 2: Just Get Started

I am back with the second installment of going from blogging to personal brand. Last week (https://carlarjenkins.blogspot.com/2017/09/you-can-go-from-blog-to-brand.html ), I have written about why you should consider blogging to elevate your personal brand. Now is the best time to create separation. People have returned from summer vacation and the fourth quarter is two weeks away. You are in a sweet spot to lower the boom on your competition. 

Most people fear spending so much money on something new that’s not guaranteed. However, I am here to tell you that you don’t have to spend any money to get started. You can get started on Blogger.com, Google’s free blogging platform. I have had mine for over 13 years and it’s still up and running. Check it out here https://carlarjenkins.blogspot.com/ . I was on Blogger from 2004 through 2015 when I got my WordPress site. That’s 11 years. During those 11 years, I have relocated from Cleveland to Washington, DC and received 4 promotions. The point is to get started.

                Now I do have a warning for you: DON’T use Wix, Weebly or Wordpress.com to get started. The reason why is because you don’t control these free platforms. Also with Wordpress.com your site becomes yourname.wordpress.com (carlarjenkins.wordpress.com) instead of yourname.com (carlarjenkins.wordpress.com). You don’t want to give Wordpress.com any free advertising en route towards building your brand! Moreover, with Blogger.com being owned by Google, you’re instantly getting SEO traction. You’re getting found by people which is great; plus with Blogger you can republish to different platforms namely LinkedIn and Medium.

                LinkedIn and Medium are the two biggest business-related platforms. They can increase your visibility moving you up to expert level. Once you post on Blogger.com, you import your blog article link on Medium or copy and paste your article onto LinkedIn Pulse to increase your reach. Visit my LinkedIn and Medium  profiles to see how I have republished my blog content onto these two platforms.

You still get to keep your publishing rights because you’ve used Blogger over posting directly into Medium and LinkedIn. Whenever, I republish, I always put my original article as the source article so when people are interested in it, they return back to the Blogger.com site. Remember, while you getting started, you have to start training your audience to return your real estate (Blogger.com) even though they’ve found you on either Medium or LinkedIn (or some other social media platform).

                See how easy this is to simply get started because now you know that you can get started for FREE! Try it out and email me at info@carlarjenkins.com letting me know how you are doing. Next time I will bring to you the final installment where I discuss how to stay consistent once you’ve started. 

eBay Adventure - 90 Days In

                Right after Labor Day, I am in a very nadir place. I have decided to sell my clothing items on Depop. I have seen some YouTube personalities mention it so I say ‘why the heck not?’ Well after 6 weeks with no role (I’ve even done a Labor Day sale plastering my photos everywhere from Blogger to Instagram to Pinterest with no such luck.). I have never experienced no sales. It has taken me less than 2 weeks to get my first eBay sale. I declare defeat deleting my Depop store.

                This has taken a whole lot out of me. First, I’ve devoted time towards learning a new system. Second, I have created a separate marketing campaign. Third, I am still stuck with unsold inventory which costs me time, space and money. I so need a break from resale!

                Shop my eBay store here: http://www.ebay.com/usr/carljenkin_6