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 With the growing popularity of blogging, many corporate recruiters are now using the web when trying to place, and find, job candidates. By digging through job blogs, recruiters are now able to rapidly develop large pools of qualified individuals, while at the same time gaining valuable insights into these same job candidates.
In this article, we're going to first discuss how headhunters and recruiters are using the web to expand their pools of qualified applicants. For those of you that are searching for a job, we'll explain some of the tips for both creating a blog as well as getting noticed.
Job Blogs
Many recruiters claim one of their weekly activities now includes searching through web blogs for talented individuals, or to find information about job candidates they've already interviewed. The web has become a useful tool because bloggers often write extensively about their own lives, including work.
Reading through blogs gives recruiters the opportunity to not only get a good feel for the level of expertise an individual might possess in their field of work, but also get a good sense of their writing and communication skills and style.
Admittedly, most bloggers are in technology professions because there takes a certain amount of web know-how to create a blog in the first place. But as you'll soon see, creating a job blog is not all that difficult.
Creating a Blog
For those of you that are new to this concept, we're going to begin this section with a quick lesson on blogs. The term blog comes from the phrase web log - which later morphed into weblog then simply blog. The blog itself is merely a website where the writer records their thoughts on a wide variety of topics.
A typical blog might combine text with images and links to other related web pages. Blogs differ from common web pages in that readers are permitted to leave comments in such a way that they can interact with the blogger. Blogs therefore create a type of social network within the web; this is one of several examples of the social web.
In general, there are two ways that blogs are created and hosted:
Free Job Blogs
Perhaps the easiest and fastest way to create a job blog is to sign up with one of the free online service providers mentioned earlier. They don't cost you anything but time, and they are a great introduction into the world of blogging or blogosphere. In three simple steps you can create an account, choose a name for your blog, pick out a template, and start writing.
Blog Software
More sophisticated, and serious, bloggers will prefer the flexibility that free products such as WordPress and Movable Type have to offer. To run this type of software all you'll need is a domain name and a web host.
You can register a domain name for less than $10 per year with industry giants such as GoDaddy or Network Solutions. Many web providers specialize in hosting blogs, and the easiest way to get safely started is by using one of the software publisher's recommended web hosts. While the blogging software is free, hosting will cost you around $8 or more per month; depending on how popular your blog becomes, and the amount of traffic it generates.
Creating a Job Blog
Even if you are currently employed, there is nothing wrong with creating a career blog, or at least mentioning the work that you do on your blog. But one thing you need to keep in mind is if you create a great and useful blog, it's not going to help you find employment opportunities if it doesn't have a couple of simple recruiter-friendly touches added. For example:
- Keep it Interesting - if you want to attract others to your blog, then you need to be committed to putting in the time and writing content. If you can, try to post at least once a week and remember to check back frequently in case a reader asks a question that deserves a response.
- Create Quality Content - readers of your blog, especially job recruiters, will be evaluating your blog to get a good gauge not just for your knowledge but also your communication style. It's one thing to write in a casual (less business like) fashion. But it's another matter if you have a lot of misspellings, poor grammar, or foul language.
- Act Like an Expert - if you have some specialized knowledge, and you might be considered an expert in your industry, then don't be afraid to make that fact known by talking about relevant and / or recent developments in your industry.
- Leave Out the Detail - it's always a good idea to leave out extremely personal information, such as the names and ages of children. This is especially true if you have some quirky habits that you'd rather a job recruiter not know about.
- About Me Sections - finally, it's always a good idea to have an "about me" page on your blog. This should be a concise summary stating who you are, your interests, and certainly something about your area of expertise. You can also place a downloadable resume on this page.
Advertising your Job Blog
We're going to finish this topic up by talking briefly about steps you can take to help advertise your blog. The first thing that comes to mind is linking to your blog from your resume. If you have your resume posted on a job search bulletin board, then there's no reason why you cannot mention, or link back to, your blog from your resume.
Another good way to get your blog noticed is by submitting your blog to directories, news feeds, and services specializing in scanning pages of blogs. To get started you might want to submit your blog to DMoz; arguably the most important directory on the web.
If you want to submit to a news feed, Yahoo has an excellent service, as does NewsIsFree. Finally, Bloglines is a service that allows you to register and index your blog as well as search for other related blogs. This last point is an important one to remember.
You're entering a social network, so by posting on other blogs you'll be making friends that might one day visit your job blog and post their own comments. Actively participating in this network is an excellent way to quickly assimilate into the online community and grow your readership base.
About the Author - Blogging to Get a Job
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