Writing and Blogging as Career Insurance
Tech Writer
You already write. Use it to build a portfolio and attract the right roles.
Backend
One post on 'how we fixed X' can get you recruiter messages for years.
Data Eng
Pipeline post-mortems, data quality lessons — highly shareable in your niche.
Writing and Blogging as Career Insurance
TL;DR
- Technical writing = proof you can think and communicate. Hiring managers read it.
- One great post can outlast job changes. It's evergreen career equity.
- Platform matters less than quality. Pick one. Post consistently (even if that's quarterly).
Your blog is a portfolio of your thinking. When you're not in the room, your words represent you.
Why It Works
- Demonstrates expertise. "I wrote about this" = you've thought it through.
- SEO for your career. People search "how to X" — your post shows up. So do you.
- Interview prep. "I saw your post on Y. Can you elaborate?" — you've already done the thinking.
- Recruiter magnet. Good technical content gets shared. Recruiters find it.
What to Write About
| Type | Example | Effort |
|---|---|---|
| How we fixed X | "How we reduced our API latency by 60%" | Medium |
| Lessons learned | "5 things I'd do differently building RAG" | Low |
| Technical deep-dive | "Chunking strategies for RAG" | High |
| Comparison | "LangChain vs raw API for our use case" | Medium |
| Tutorial | "Add semantic search to your app in 30 min" | Medium |
Write what you know. Write what you're learning. Write what you wish existed when you started.
Platforms
- Personal blog (Substack, Ghost, etc.): You own it. Full control. Best long-term.
- Dev.to, Hashnode: Good reach. Dev audience. Easy to start.
- Medium: OK. Algorithm can bury you. Use if you already have audience there.
- Company blog: Good for credibility. You don't own it. Supplement with personal.
Pick one. Stick with it. Cross-post if you want, but have a home base.
Cadence
- Ideal: 1–2 posts per month. Steady compounds.
- Realistic: 1 post per quarter. Still valuable. One strong post > 12 weak ones.
- Minimum: 1 post per year. Something is better than nothing.
No blog. No portfolio of thinking. Hiring manager: 'Can they communicate? Can they think through hard problems?' Unclear. Interview is the first test.
Click "With technical writing" to see the difference →
Quick Check
Why does technical writing work as career insurance?
Do This Next
- Pick a topic — Something you've done or learned recently. One idea.
- Draft an outline — 3–5 sections. What's the takeaway?
- Publish one post — Any platform. Don't perfect it. Ship it. See what happens.