Blogging your way to get a Job – An Interview

Over the last few weeks, there has been increasing coverage on how job seekers are using blogs to help them get employment; Peter Gold wrote a great post about “personal blogs are the new CV?” and whilst delivering a lecture earlier this month I highlighted that blogging was one of the key ways to help applicants stand out when looking for work. 

As there is increasing compeition for jobs, creating alternative ways to stand out from the crowd is becomming part of the norm in this decade.  Furthermore, blogs have been a valuable resource for Head Hunters and sourcers for a number of years, allowing experts to be found in their specialist field. However, more recently there have been some great examples of specific “employment blogs” have a look at Recruit Lou 

Peter Hros started a blog in September 2009 with the primary objective of sharing his HR Professional experience from the start of his career.  However he is now using this platform to market himself into a job. Below is an exclusive interview with Peter about using his HR Blog; HR Beginner to get a job. 

1.       Why did you or what was your inspiration in setting up a blog to look for work?
While my blog existed for a while already, it was after I have finished my Msc in HRM when I have realized the potential of online presentation being more than just a sharing of my HR thoughts. Slowly I have begun to present myself as a candidate for HR job. It is the mysterious nature of online space where anyone can notice you, and if you transmit the right message you should attract the right people.

2.        Is it Just a platform to help you get a job or something that you will continue to write afterwards?
Priority of my blog has always been to present my life from HR perspective and help me and other beginners in HR with professional development. Being at the beginning of this journey I found it as an opportunity to keep a sort of a diary of what crosses my mind of  HR beginner. Being in position of a job hunter it came to me that it will be waste of the virtual space if I will not make it clear to all readers of my blog that my skills are also to sell. I like blogging very much and getting a job will not stop me participating in this online interaction. My blog was set up to help all people at the launch of their HR career talking about various issues concerning professional development and so on. My main audience should be HR students and graduates.

3.       What are the three most important things you have learnt about having a blog?

1. Blog by itself isn’t enough.
Waiting for someone to notice your blog by accident is naïve and stupid. Networking is the salt of your blog. Using Twitter, Facebook, Linked in etc. will help you raise the awareness of your blog and attract traffic. Also online forums such as CIPD communities, HR Space etc. participate in discussions, find some good sources of information relevant to your blog and elaborate.

2. Your first impression is too important to be ignored.
The amount of information sources online makes us all flipping through the pages until something strikes our eyes. Your blog must make people stop by, but also stay a bit longer and hopefully subscribe to your updates. Also keep it short. Your readers want to get the message in few paragraphs and move on to next post as their time spent online has to be efficient. This was one of my latest lessons.

3. Ask for feedback.
Make sure you ask for the opinion your friends and family but also people online who have no other than virtual connection to you. Either of these groups can have a personal or professional kind of bias which can cause lack of constructive feedback. Combination of these groups of people can give you better idea where you got it wrong and where you excel and help you to build on the strengths. Read other blogger’s works and let them inspire you.

4.       How has it helped you so far in getting your dream job?
The transformation of my blog into job hunting tool is on its beginning and there is much more to be done to improve my attractiveness to labour buyers. Nevertheless blogging and networking with other people from HR field enhanced my professional life incredibly. Writing a blog has brought to my attention many valuables out there which are not to be missed whether you are job hunting or not. Job hunting goes with continual professional development. You want to be up to date with current trends in your field. Learning faster than a rate of change in your environment is never easy and frankly there is no way you can win this race. What you can do however is to make sure you are still in the race and hopefully there are more people behind you than on front of you.

5.       What other creative means have you taken to find employment?
Most of my interventions have either only just started or are in plan. While I am hunting for my first official HR job I am also working as an Assistant Restaurant Manager spending up to 50 hours a week at work os it is important that I keep as efficient as possible.  Tracking all vacancies using RSS feeds makes job hunting much easier and I would recommend that all job seekers do this.

Other key channels include;  
a) Agencies are not to be missed as when you give them all information you have they will work for you while you do something else. 

b) Linked In. Benefits of Linked in are beyond questioning. This networking power is known as one of the first stop of all online recruiters as well as employers looking for talents. 

6.       What advice could you give to other people starting their own blog?
I myself am a newbie in blogging and from the very little I know about blogging I will recommend following.

*  Your blog is your product. Unless you write it for yourself (in which case there is no point to keep it online) think about its value to the audience. Lookup some common known marketing practices and translate them into your blogging strategy. Think about what you are trying to say.

*  Design. There are numerous sources of online advice talking about how your blog should look like. The bottom line is that it has to be attractive for people hang around a bit and scroll down to see what you have got to offer.

*  Blogging without networking is like food without salt. Spend considerable time networking getting know other professionals in your field. Get them read your posts and ask for feedbacks. Internet is a magic place where if you have something valuable to say, friends of friends of friends” principle will do the trick of spreading word.

*  Time Management:  If there is a lot going on in your life and you never know when it is next time you will be able to sit down and produce a decent post, make sure you keep at least notes of all ideas for blog post. Save them as a draft, and when you will have time, going through your drafts pick one.

Thanks Peter!  There are some really good tips and advice there for job seekers who are considering using Blogs to improve their employ-ability.