Are Blogs the New Resumes?
Blogs are certainly redefining the online landscape. There are 55 million of them and counting, with some studies confirming that more than 100,000 blogs are created everyday! Blogs are invading corporate websites, online newspapers and content portals. Could blogs also replace resumes, though?
Maybe not completely, but bloggers certainly have an edge over job seekers that do not publish one. Rod Boothby, the author of Innovation Creators, wrote an interesting article outlining how his blog helped to bring his career to the next level. In his own words:
“Let’s look at it from the other side. Imagine you are a prospective employer, and you can compare two identical candidates. The first candidate has simply handed you a 2 page resume + 1 page cover letter. The second candidate has done the same, but they have also included a link to their blog. Now, further imagine that although the blog gives a more detailed picture, it does not change your opinion of the second candidate.
Which candidate would you choose? My guess is that you would choose the blogger simply because they are a known quantity. When you hire someone, you do not know exactly how they are going to work out. There is a quality distribution. The resume, cover letter and interview give you some information. Based on that information, you can guess on average how the candidate is going to work out. You might guess the exact same quality level for the blogger candidate, but because you have more information from all the blog posts, all the links, searching on their site for instances of how they have handled angry comments, you get a much better idea of how that candidate is going to perform.
Thus, hiring a blogger is a lower risk proposition because you have more information and a better idea of how they are going to perform.”
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While I think that some blogs might be properly suited to be included on the resume, I don’t think that holds true for the majority… I
I don’t think that most of them are polished enough to really impress a potential employer, unless the blog is related directly to the field/industry of the job that yu’re applying for.
I see blogs as an extension to your resume. They augment - not replace. A resume is a list of things you have done. A blog give someone a look at how you think.
My post on this topic
Interesting. Most of the time I see warnings about how saying something in a blog or social community site can later come back to haunt you when looking for a job.
I’m glad to see the benefits and potential rewards of blogging being talked about. I agree with you blogging can help land a job. It obviously depends on what you say and how you say it, but if done well a blog can greatly enhance a resume by providing more information that a single piece of paper ever could.
The title was obviously provocative, I also agree that blogs are more like complements to resumes, but I think that as we move forward they will play an even more important role on careers.
[…] Are Blog the New Resumes? - Blogs are certainly redefining the online landscape. There are 55 million of them and counting, with some studies confirming that more than 100,000 blogs are created everyday! Blogs are invading corporate websites, online newspapers and content portals. Could blogs also replace resumes, though? […]
[…] Who would you hire, someone who says they can write, or someone who has demonstrated their writing skills? An article on Innovation Zen titled Are Blogs the New Resumes? says “[B]loggers certainly have an edge over job seekers that do not publish one.” […]
[…] Are Blogs the New Resumes? (tags: blogs blogging) […]
Look, I think this is a really interesting concept being discussed, but those of us serious about blogging or working with others online are like 92837492797 steps ahead of most of the world.
Jaron Lanier’s discussion in Edge about a wholly different topic makes the critical point:
…New business models for people who think and write have not appeared as quickly as we all hoped. Newspapers, for instance, are on the whole facing a grim decline as the Internet takes over the feeding of curious eyes that hover over morning coffee and even worse, classified ads. In the new environment, Google News is for the moment better funded and enjoys a more secure future than most of the rather small number of fine reporters around the world who ultimately create most of its content. The aggregator is richer than the aggregated.
Point is that the relation between the online world and the rest of the world is unclear. In some sense, it is the perceptions of what the Internet is doing (”oh look! news! thanks to google, I know now it grows on trees and that the MSM is junk”) that can cause harm in the other areas of the world (”my newspaper folded today, even though it was one of the most read papers online”) and vice versa - we know blogging tells a lot about a person, and that for some, like myself, it’s where fairly serious writing goes. That probably works against me in some circles, as a lot of employers are very, very scared of being blogged about by someone that might actually be articulate.
If i am an employer i will select the person who writes blog.A blogger who writes any crap is better than a non-blogger in anyway.Blogs will express to the employer how his employee thinks.Its like an open diary
[…] In Are Blogs the New Resumes? […]
[…] Innovation Zen: Are Blogs the New Resumes? “…Bloggers certainly have an edge over job seekers that do not publish one… hiring a blogger is a lower risk proposition because you have more information and a better idea of how they are going to perform.” (tags: blog blogging) […]
[…] A great article caught my attention this morning over at Innovation Zen. He asks the question, “Are Blogs The New Resumes”? Its a great question and really makes us think about how our blogging experience can be a great way to show our reliability and general knowledge for a subject or topic. For example, Im sure there are plenty of internet marketers out there that have their eye on bloggers that write about the subject. […]
I’d extend the scope of your assertion beyond blogs to include any elements which combine to make up an individual’s online persona. It’s about overall transparency.
- What’s in your flickr photostream?
- What have you dugg and what’s your tone when commenting?
- What videos are listed as favourites on YouTube?
- What’s in your LinkedIn profile?
- etc …
[…] Are Blogs the new resumes? […]
[…] Are Blogs the New Resumes? “Thus, hiring a blogger is a lower risk proposition because you have more information and a better idea of how they are going to perform”. Je confirme avoir un blog peut aider pour trouver un job/stage. […]
Interesting point. Personally I feel if you’re anyway associated with marketing or media it’s professional suicide to not have a blog.
Steve, I agree with you, it looks like we are creating virtual personas of ourselves, and as we move forward those virtual realities will be integrated more and more with “real life” endeavors.
Michael, you do have a point.
I agree. In the brand advising business, it’s important to understand how to build our own personal brands using social media.
Interesting - thought I’d jump in since I’m a recruiter who uses blogs to find candidates for his company. We hired 2 people last year based on their blogs (sans resumes). Actually, we found them through their blogs. For a 75 person company, that’s a high percent of our hires.
Also, before I talk to any candidate I look for their presence online. Doesn’t rule them out if they don’t have one, but if they do (and it’s a positive one), I’m generally impressed.
Martin, that is pretty interesting!
Thanks for sharing your experience as a recruiter.
[…] Don’t distract the resume reader from getting this information by funky, faulty or overly fancy formatting - remember, you get less than 10 seconds to not mess it up. […]
Would you put your blog URL address on your paper resume?
Best,
Marek
http://megabluewave.com/blog
Thank You
[…] In terms of self-marketing, I would argue that blogs have become an essential tool for developing credibility. If there is an industry or topic that you feel passionately about, why not take some time to write about it? Document your thoughts and engage in conversation with other bloggers with the same interests. In many ways, the blogosphere is a very even playing field when it comes to discussion and opinion. […]
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While I agree with the article, I think we have to keep mind that great resumes and cover letters are designed to be “spoken words on paper” giving the hiring manager the insight they need to request an interview, which will give both candidates an opportunity to showcase there skills. Now if the position is related to writting then a blog would defintely be a plus and give a writer an advantage.
Tiffany
Extreme Resume Solutions
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