When a friend suggested that he write a blog, Joel Backaler saw it as a good opportunity to share some of his most interesting stories about working as a consultant in China. One of his clients, for example, was the chief executive officer of a state-owned chemical company who lived in a province renowned for hand-pulled noodles. The CEO had a passion for noodles, so he ended up opening a chain of fast-food noodle houses that would offer jobs to laid-off factory workers.
当一位朋友建议在中国做咨询师的周乐达(Joel Backaler)开博客时，他将其视为分享自己工作中一些最有意思的故事的好机会。比方说，周乐达有一位客户曾是一家国有化工企业的老总，居住在一个因拉面而闻名的省份。这位老总对面条情有独钟，后来他开了一家卖面条的连锁快餐店，为工厂下岗职工提供就业岗位。
'I was surrounded by so many great stories to write about, but I never had an outlet to write about what I was learning through work. It was a passion project,' says Mr. Backaler, who would regularly wake up at 4 a.m. and post new articles to his blog 'The China Observer,' before going to the office. He'd also blog on weekends and on holidays.
周乐达说：“我身边可写的精彩故事多极了，但以前没有地方可以让我把自己在工作中了解到的东西写下来。写博客是作为爱好。”周乐达清晨四点会按时起床，在他的博客“中国观察者”(The China Observer)上发布新文章，然后再去办公室。他还会利用周末和假日写博客。
His hard work paid off. Within months, Mr. Backaler became a quoted authority on business in China. His articles were linked to by well-known industry blogs, and he was asked to write on international business topics for Forbes and BusinessWeek. He was also offered a full-time job in 2011 to start up Asian-Pacific operations for the Frontier Strategy Group, a Washington, D.C.-based advisory firm. Mr. Backaler is now working on a book about the rise of Chinese companies in overseas markets for Palgrave Macmillan entitled 'China Goes West.'
他的努力获得了回报。短短几个月内，周乐达就成为被广泛援引的中国商务权威。他的文章被知名行业博客转载，他还应《福布斯》(Forbes)和《商业周刊》(BusinessWeek)之约撰写有关国际商务的文章。此外，2011年他获得了一份全职工作，为总部位于华盛顿的咨询公司前沿策略集团(Frontier Strategy Group)开拓亚太业务。周乐达目前在为帕尔格雷夫麦克米伦出版社(Palgrave Macmillan)写一本有关中国公司在海外市场崛起的书，书名叫《中国走向西方》(China Goes West)。
In the current competitive job climate, hard work alone doesn't always get noticed, say career experts. Good employees are getting passed up for new opportunities because companies may not be aware of their full capabilities. That's where branding can be used to promote your value to your busy bosses, peers and anybody else that can help you from inside and outside the company. Through a coordinated networking, social-media and blogging effort, you can become the go-to specialist in your field.
职业生涯专家表示，在当前竞争激烈的就业环境中，仅靠努力工作不一定能赢得关注。优秀的员工会与新机遇失之交臂，因为公司可能不了解他们的全部能力。要解决这个问题，可以通过塑造个人品牌向你繁忙的老板、同侪以及公司内外能助你一臂之力的其他人推介你的价值。通过建立人脉、使用社交媒体和写博客等手段的协调运用，你可以成为你所在领域内权威的专家。
First, think strategically. How do you want to be perceived by the world? You should choose a unique specialty to promote that is not based on any other brands, says Dan Schawbel, a workplace expert from Boston and author of 'Promote Yourself: The New Rules of Career Success.' 'Instead of being a LinkedIn expert, you could become a LinkedIn expert for baby boomers. It's important to find your own niche that sets you apart from your peers.'
首先，要战略性地思考。你希望世界怎样看待你？波士顿的职场专家、《自我推介：职场成功新规则》(Promote Yourself: The New Rules of Career Success)一书作者丹・施瓦贝尔 (Dan Schawbel)表示，你应该选择一种不建立在任何其他品牌基础上的独特专长来推介。他说：“不要去做LinkedIn专家，你可以做面向婴儿潮一代的LinkedIn专家。找出让你与众不同的独门专长是非常重要的。”
Fill any knowledge or skill gaps. Especially if you're looking to advance, ask for honest feedback from co-workers. You may find that you need to shift to a different functional area within the company, for example, to get that international assignment that you want, says Dorie Clark, a branding and management consultant from Somerville, Mass., and author of 'Reinventing You.'
弥补信息和能力空白。请向你的同事征询诚实的反馈意见，这一点在你寻求职业发展时尤为重要。马萨诸塞州萨默维尔(Somerville)的品牌和管理顾问、《自我再投资》(Reinventing You)一书作者多里・克拉克(Dorie Clark)称，比方说，你也许会发现，要想得到你想望的那个派驻海外的机会，你需要转到公司的另一个职能部门。
Don't be self-conscious. It's OK to promote your accomplishments. Bragging can be a good way to increase visibility. Just don't make self-promotion the only thing that you tweet or blog about, says Mr. Schawbel. You want to attract new readers by becoming a resource or mentor for colleagues and by reaching out and participating in online discussions in company forums or in LinkedIn groups.
不要难为情。推介你取得的成就是合情合理的。自夸是一种让你更受关注的好办法。施瓦贝尔说，只要不让自我推销成为你微博或博客的唯一内容就可以了。要想吸引新读者，你可以做同事们的信息源或导师，还可以伸出触角，加入公司论坛或LinkedIn小组的在线讨论。
Blog regularly. It may seem old-fashioned when compared with Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest, but blogging is the best way to showcase what you do and how you think-especially if you are a knowledge worker known for your ideas.
定期写博客。与Facebook、推特(Twitter)和Pinterest相比，博客也许显得有点过时，但写博客是展示你做了些什么以及你如何思考的最佳方式──如果你是以一位创意见长的脑力劳动者更是尤其适合。
If you make the effort to blog, you are setting yourself apart and showing that you are a thought leader in your company or your field, as opposed to being just a commodity, says Ms. Clark. 'You don't want to be a commodity, since there's somebody out there, literally, that's willing to do your job for $3 an hour. You have to provide a compelling reason why you're worth the money. Otherwise, it's a race to the bottom.'
克拉克说，如果你努力去写博客，你就会让自己与众不同，显示出你是你所在公司或业内一位有思想的领导者，而不仅仅是一件花钱就可买到的商品。她说：“你不能成为一件花钱就可买到的商品，因为真的会有人愿意以每小时三美元的价钱做你的工作。你必须要给出有力的理由，证明你为什么值这个钱。否则你就会陷入竞次的困局。”
It's important to establish your brand outside of your company since that can help you get recognized from within, says Ms. Clark. 'So if you're being asked to speak as an expert by media and winning awards for your blog, that may compel the powers that be at your company to re-evaluate you.'
克拉克说，在你所在的公司外部建立个人品牌是很重要的，因为这能够帮助你获得内部的认可。他表示：“如果你受媒体之邀作为专家讲话，或者博客获了奖，这就有可能会促使你所在公司的管理者重新评估你的价值。”
Writing credibly takes research which keeps you on top of trends. It's also is an opportunity to mention blogging to your boss at key moments. If something that you blogged about is mentioned in a meeting, you can drop in that you wrote about that topic, which would highlight mastery of the strategic elements of a job that you want.
要想把博客写得令人信服，就需要做研究，确保自己处于行业的前沿。这也是一个在关键时刻向你的老板提及你写博客这件事的机会。如果你在博客中写过的某件事在会议上被提及，你可以顺便说说你写过这个问题，这会凸显出你对于自己想做的那项工作中的战略元素是有把握的。
Don't stagnate. Be proactive with your brand. You may need to reinvent yourself multiple times to keep up with shifting industry trends and changes to your career fortunes, like recovering from a layoff.
不要止步不前。要积极推广你的品牌。要想跟上不断变化的行业趋势，适应职业命运的变化（比如从裁员中恢复），你可能需要多次对自己进行再投资。
Make the best of your situation. Even if you're in a job that you don't like, you can continue to broadcast your expertise through social media and your blog and use that experience to flush out new opportunities.
尽可能地利用现有条件。即使你在做一份自己不喜欢的工作，你也可以通过社交媒体和博客不断展示你的专长，并利用这一工作经历来创造新的机会。
No surprises. Tell your boss what you plan to do. You don't want him or her to stumble on your blog accidentally and find that you've been posting 1,000-word stories throughout the day when you should be working, says Mr. Schawbel. It helps to get your boss's sanction. He or she may even make it part of your job. Otherwise, do it outside of work.
与老板适时沟通。让老板了解你的计划。施瓦贝尔称，不要让老板无意中读到你的博客，发现你花了一整天时间写了一篇1,000字的博文，而这个时间你本应该在工作。得到老板的认可会有所助益。老板甚至有可能让写博客成为你的工作内容。否则的话，就还在工作之余写博客吧。