from Michael Hanson
I’m a big believer that in the future, you’ll be hired based on your blog.
I know there are some high profile examples of the opposite – people getting fired for blogging – but I think more and more clued in employers are going to snatch up talent that is willing to share their thinking process with the world.
Interviewing a candidate that has a blog is like getting the ultimate screen on the problems the person is interested in, how they learn and think, and how well they communicate. Conversations can start in the middle of things, picking up the line of thinking where the post left off.
So what’s it like when you land a blogger in house? At MS, Scoble was the first person I’d met who fit this new role of “getting hired based on your blog”, and in the short time he’s been there (OK, in the short time I was there too) I saw him have a huge impact inside that enormous company. Somebody probably hired him to change the external perception more than the internal practices. But by directing external support and interest toward internal innovators starved for oxygen, he’s done more to help that place than the millions spent in paid marketing.
If you are a blogger with any interest in these open positions get in touch.
September 13, 2004 at 10:24 pm
Interesting thought. However, if a blogger were blogging with the aim of getting a job through their blog wouldn’t that influence (either consciously or unconsciously) what they’re writing in their blog?<br />
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For example, they would tend to avoid certain comments about potential employers and their products that might be perceived as being ‘negative’ by those employers. One could lose one’s candor if this were the aim. Honest, constructive criticism would be lost. The blog of the blogger with this sort of intention would start looking like a politician’s where nothing of substance is ever said for fear of offending anyone.<br />
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Actually, isn’t this why a lot of bloggers choose to be anonymous and use pseudonyms? That way they can say whatever they want without fear that what they’ve written will get them in trouble with their current, or potential future employer.<br />
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While startup companies such as your own are very open-minded, larger companies and corporations (which successful start-ups tend to turn into, BTW) are not so open-minded. I know that I would be very afraid to use my real name on my blog just for this reason. People have indeed been fired for things they’ve written in their blogs, so I don’t think these fears are unjustified.
September 13, 2004 at 10:42 pm
No doubt that lots of anonymous bloggers aren’t going to be hired based on their blog. Likely too that syncophants will occassionally get hired. <br />
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But I think the opportunity isn’t for careful, disingenuous bloggers - its for frank, entrepreneurial thinkers, who start working out their ideas in a simple text box. Being able to engage someone who has interesting thoughts they’ve shared with the world is simply a better hiring experience than trying to tease out these thoughts from a resume or interview.<br />
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The world is full of boring “me-too” companies doing things similar to other boring companies. If you want to do boring things where you always watch what you say, I agree - don’t sign your blog posts. If you really want to work there, go ahead and try shilling for them on your blog.<br />
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But if you want to be yourself and find the right place for you, try out original thoughts, experiment, grow an audience, sign your name. Boring me-too posts and anonymous postings aren’t going to get you there.
September 14, 2004 at 12:28 am
“But I think the opportunity isn’t for careful, disingenuous bloggers – its for frank, entrepreneurial thinkers, who start working out their ideas in a simple text box. Being able to engage someone who has interesting thoughts they’ve shared with the world is simply a better hiring experience than trying to tease out these thoughts from a resume or interview.”<br />
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I definately see where this could be an advantage in hiring. My comments weren’t intended to negate your original post about this, but to explain why a lot of bloggers (and non-bloggers) are cautious.<br />
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“The world is full of boring “me-too” companies doing things similar to other boring companies. If you want to do boring things where you always watch what you say, I agree – don’t sign your blog posts. If you really want to work there, go ahead and try shilling for them on your blog.”<br />
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I think you missed my point: One of the points I was trying to make was that blogging for the aim of getting hired will inevitably lead to ‘shilling’. <br />
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And unfortunately, most of us at some time or another will have to work for a ‘boring “me-too” company’ where you always have to watch what you say. Of course we don’t like this, but it seems to be the way of Corporate America in the age of offshoring. The recent job-drought we just went through (which fortunately seems to be almost over) forced many of us to work for boring “me-too” companies in jobs we hated in order to pay the bills and survive. Blogging about our political viewpoints that might be counter to a manager’s or about development philosophy which very likely would be different from management’s could have led to living in our cars.<br />
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Now that we’ve been through about 3 years of ‘drought’, there are many of us yearning to work at open-minded companies such as yours. The very fact that you allow people to comment back to your comments on a company website is a breath of fresh air.<br />
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Maybe now that the jobs are starting to return like the Fall rains, many of us will get the courage to blog without having to be anonymous, but for the last few years we haven’t had that luxury.
September 14, 2004 at 10:41 pm
Hey you’re stealing my mojo! I’ve been using that technique for a couple of years now. My favorite example… mdm@ and I tried to hire this guy a year and a half ago:<br />
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http://www.spiteful.com/pages/bait.html
October 6, 2004 at 1:22 am
I was hired based on my blog. Since August I’ve been working as a “Blogmaster” (yes, that is literally my title) for a political/internet consulting company. I came one one day in June to find an email the company about a potential job with them. I wasn’t even looking, but I interviewed and got the job. The beauty part? They found me through my blog, and I’ve only been blogging for a year; quick turn around for a hobby to turn into a job!
September 6, 2007 at 5:22 am
Hello Mr Hanson, I didn’t know that the blog that I created for fun and loggin my events can get me opportunities too.
I am a college senior, engineering major and looking for an internship. I’ve knew about 43 things. I would like to work in the team if given a chance.
you can go through my blog and let me know
thanks