I listen to and empathize with my unemployed friends and usually because of our different fields of study; I am at loss at how to help them find jobs. I ask the basic questions such as what have you done, where have you applied and have you gotten responses. After a period of listening and encouraging them to have patience, I suggest blogging. At least I am glad that two of them have taken my advice and started blogging. In fact one of them has started a second blog. The reasons I suggest blogging are:

It keeps you busy:
I remember when I wanted to start a new blog, I was excited and most part of each day, it was all I thought about. I found myself with a note book writing down post titles as I go about the day’s chores; thinking of my target audience and what the blog should focus on; and reading up on how to promote the blog.
It can be quite depressing if you don’t have a job and a source of income. It is even worse if you have worked before. As weeks get to months and months to years (perhaps), you get quite depressed and some ailments begin to knock at your door. With your state of mind, you are likely to open the door and not know the implications of such visitors in your house (mind and body). Before you know it, it is too late; you are psychologically, emotionally, mentally and physically challenged. And it is usually not that easy to quickly point out the root cause – unemployment.

Blogging keeps you busy thereby ensuring that you are stable because it takes your mind away from yourself and your state of unemployment to your readers.

It helps you market yourself:
My lawyer friend spent months applying to law firms with no positive response. Then I suggested she blog about the aspects of law she was passionate about. By so doing, she portrays herself as an expert in the area. When the hiring managers see her content, they can reconcile it with her claims on her résumé. Hiring managers do not just want to fill up positions. They seek out prospective employees who are well above average and can add real value to the companies. Your blog is an avenue for them to get to know what you can offer. Of course do not forget to add your blog address to your résumé.

It helps you discover yourself:
This is mostly applicable to fresh graduates who are still trying to define themselves. Blogging reveals to you who you are, what your passions are, your likes and dislikes and what you are good at. As you blog you will observe a trend with time which will help you know yourself and define your goals.

You learn about customer service:
All jobs or businesses are either delivering products or services and so are people oriented. How you treat your customers or clients determines if they will come back or send referrals. Blogging takes you away from yourself and allows you to focus on your audience. You think about what they want and how to satisfy them. You look forward to their input and you may employ some of these inputs to improve your blog. With time you realize you have become people oriented such that when you are employed, it becomes much easier to relate with your clients.

It teaches you work ethics:
As you blog and learn, you begin to understand that blogging can be treated as a business and quite a number of the offline work ethics apply online as well. For instance, to have a successful blog, it requires commitment, consistency, concentration, willingness to learn, humility, good public relations, hard work and discipline.

Self-employed vs employed:
Yes, blogging will help you know if you are really going to enjoy having a boss or working on your own.

It creates on online contact:
Online presence makes you visible to more hiring managers as opposed to your attempts at job hunting offline. A number of hiring managers search for more information about prospective employees other than that given in curriculum vitae. Imagine you are ‘googled’ and you are not even on facebook. However, online presence such as social networking sites and your blog may affirm the information on your CV.

You can make money:
And of course, it is a veritable truism that you can blog to make money through adsense, affiliate programs or even your own products (ebooks and softwares).

So instead of bemoaning the fact you are unemployed, have fun blogging. You never know the opportunities it may bring your way.

Ndidi Ngwuluka is a writer and a network marketer who delights in encouraging others to fulfill their dreams as writers. She is a firm believer of "if you can think of it, you can make it happen." For more information visit her blog www.ndidingwuluka.com