How I Got Into HR Tech Content Writing
When I first got into freelancing, I went after what I knew best. A chance job opening on Upwork lead me down a new freelancing path I never thought I’d take. Today I want to chat about how I got into HR Tech content writing.
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In today’s episode, we’ll be chatting about how I got into HR Tech content writing and how I do blog post research.
From Sociology To Freelancing
In 2017, I got my Master’s in Sociology. It took a while to make that happen, and I am proud of my degree. The person who pursued her Master’s feels so far away from me now, but it was an interesting part of my life. I wasn’t ready to freelance when I graduated from college in 2015, so getting an advanced degree wasn’t the worst thing I could have done.
There was a ton of unnecessary drama in my department. I don’t like to talk about it a lot, but it made me want to avoid getting my P.h.D. I’d had a fantastic undergrad experience. My graduate experience left me jaded on pursuing higher education. I definitely don’t want to pursue any other education unless it’s fully funded.
I also had a run-in with the worst mentor I could have possibly gotten. I wanted to make some connections in new places, so I got a mentor from the Honor’s Society I was in. It was honestly one of the worst decisions I ever made because it made me second-guess myself. I told him my plans, and he essentially shot them both down. I talked about wanting to get into Applied Sociology, but he told me that the field was looked down upon. I also told him about my teaching aspirations. He told me that teaching jobs were hard to get. While I understand that both those things may be true, it frustrated me that he said it the way he did. Not everyone is meant to be a mentor, and that’s just something we have to deal with.
From Higher Education and Digital Marketing Freelancing To HR Tech
When I first got into freelancing, I wanted to tackle subjects I knew. I’d learned so much about higher education from being in school and writing content on my blog, The Happy Arkansan. I’d learned a lot about digital marketing by growing that blog over the years. It seemed like a match made in heaven. In reality, I was targeting the wrong people, and I was stuck making $50 a blog post.
One day in the fall of 2017, I happened across a post for a human resources Slack integration. The pay was a measly $35 per post, but the topic was interesting. I did my best to make an impression, got the job, and crushed the first post. I kept working with that company for the rest of that year. That company was kind enough to give me a byline for the articles I wrote, and I expanded from there.
It took a while to focus on HR technology. For a while, I didn’t want to do it. Then, in 2018, I took a course with the amazing Abbi Perets of Successful Freelance Mom. In that course, she convinced me to go all-in with HR technology. So, I spent all of 2019 doing just that. Now, I’ve worked with amazing companies in the HR space like WorkBright, Greenhouse, Bonusly, and so much more.
How I Do Research In The HR Tech Niche
Since I have a Master’s in Sociology, I didn’t know a ton about Human Resources when I first started. It was and still is a learning curve for me. I do the research that my time allows so that I can get work done. I do two main types of research: post-specific and general.
Post-Specific Research
Post-specific research is just what it sounds like: the research I do for the articles I write. When I think of a new idea or get a new assignment, I need to research that particular topic. To do that research, I look for blog posts, videos, books, and more about that specific topic. I have several trusted sources in the HR world I look to like SHRM, Forbes, Entrepreneur, HR Dive, and more.
General Research
I also like to do a good amount of general research when I have more time on my hands. General research is excellent for times when I want to think about new topics or get more engrossed in HR. I look for books, podcasts, videos, virtual conferences, lead magnets, and webinars to learn more about HR topics. I am subscribed to a ton of HR technology newsletters, and those newsletters share knowledge about the learning opportunities those companies are hosting. It’s an amazing way to gain experience as a freelancer.