Does blogging help you find a job?

Michael Higgins has a post about this subject over at his Chocolate and Gold Coins blog. His post gives my blog a big plug, which is gratifying to my ego. Although his post his thoughtful and well worth reading, I’m going to have to respectfully disagree with his take that employers will be impressed by your blog.

In fact, the reason why my real name is not on my blog is because I don’t want people typing it into Google and finding me. But I just Googled myself right now, and to my horror my old blog came up as the top result because I left my name on the template! So I just removed my name and hopefully it will sink in the search results real soon. However, even though I am incredibly easy to find via Google, not a single employer I ever interviewed with bothered to find my blog, as far as I know. Women I’ve dated have found my blog. It’s interesting how women will put more effort into researching their dates than employers will into researching their job applicants.

My own take is that blogging requires a lot of intelligence to do well and it’s not a coincidence that a high percentage of top bloggers have Ivy League degrees. Ivy League schools only accept the most intelligent applicants. Writing skills are also required for blogging, and in fact blogging ought to improve one’s writing skills because practice always improves a skill. But skill in writing and intelligence, though correlated with each other, are also separate attributes.

Mr. Higgins writes that having a successful blog also requires good marketing skills, and this I agree with as well. Marketing your blog requires intelligence, an understanding of the importance of marketing, and a lot of effort. (I’m not so sure I put in enough effort to ever become an A-list blogger.)

So with blogging demonstrating all sorts of good things about a job applicant, what’s the downside? First of all, most employers are scared off by the unusual. Employers aren’t really looking for the best applicant, they’re looking for the safest applicant. The applicant least likely to make the hiring manager look stupid for hiring him. Because blogging is a big unknown, it’s a red flag to the employer.

Successful blogging requires a lot of effort, but employers don’t want employees who put a lot of effort into their hobbies, they want employees who put a lot of effort into their jobs.

A blogger with a truly successful blog (mine doesn’t reach such a lofty level) has power. Employers don’t want employees with power. They want powerless employees who can easily be bossed around. An employee with a well read blog can write about how much his employer sucks, and thousands of readers will then find out about it.

Employers tend to have an extremely narrow focus when looking for employees. So the fact that you have great writing skills and can market a blog means absolutely nothing unless maybe you’re trying to find a job in journalism or internet marketing. If employers really cared about your writing skills, they'd ask for a writing sample. I have found that no one ever asks for a writing sample unless you're applying for a job as a lawyer or as a writer. Employers are lazy and uncurious when it comes to hiring practices.

With all the negatives associated with blogging, my advice is to keep your blog hidden from current and potential future employers. However I’d love to hear other people’s take on this topic.

Comments

[Michael H.]

Hi Half Sigma
I'm glad you liked the post. I don't really disagree with anything you write. I wouldn't put my blog on my resume. I think though that employers aught to try to find if a person has a blog because it might be useful information. Actually, I did address the downside of blogging and I could have elaborated on that. You're right about some companies will wish that they owned you for essentially 24-7 and have no life outside of working for thier company. My wife interviewed with some companies like that.

In your case, I see a definite talent in marketing. I go to sites and discover "Half Sigma was here" all the time. The other day I found a little blog called Patrix that only Indian-Americans read. I read a lot of those blogs because I have a particular interest in India. But you were there before I was. How did you find Patrix?

You have a skill in networking and marketing. If you wanted to change careers, maybe you could use the marketing of your blog as evidence of marketing skill - assuming you really don't have business experience there.

[Half Sigma]

"In your case, I see a definite talent in marketing." Thank you for the compliment. But what you really mean is that I have a talent for marketing blogs. This is a unique skill that's not even related to marketing non-blog websites.

And my blog is only ranked 6196 in the Truth Laid Bear Ecosystem. This is pretty pathetic. Only the top 100 bloggers really have a significant voice. But if we believe that there are 6 million blogs, then being in the top 6000 is like being in the top 0.1%.

[Karol]

It really depends on the job. I work in politics and have found it very helpful. I usually put it in my cover letter and it hasn't gotten a bad response yet. All of my employers have encouraged my blog and let me blog at work.

[Cindy]

Very nice blog; strong but not sweet, like a good cup of coffee.

You think it's strange that the women you're dating have put more effort into finding your blog than would-be employers? As a former recruiter, I'd investigate hundreds of resumes - who had the time? As a former single, my dating numbers were much lower and the perils of falling in love with someone with an alias who then turns out to be some crack-pot fathering your spawn has far more personal implications!

[Steve]

I think you are aiming toward the lowest common denominator regarding employers. I could imagine that many employers are scared off by overtly intelligent employees, but not the top people and the top firms. Alot of my corporate work experience has been at law firms or in New York, where you can be as excellent as you want to be without censure, as long as you do not seem a braggart.

[Half Sigma]

"I think you are aiming toward the lowest common denominator regarding employers."

Probably.