One chunk of wisdom I offer to potential job seekers is this: “Create a ‘PUBlog’ for yourself.” What’s a “Publog”?  It’s a blog with careful thought to promoting your accomplishments, talents, interests, or anything that would be well received by a future recruiter/reader. Since it is your blog, you can skillfully work into some of your posts some PUBLICITY about yourself. Do so skillfully to avoid turning off your mainstream, regular readership. With some careful thought you can turn your blog into a “PUBlog”—publicity + blog—and thereby make it perform double duty as showpiece for your accomplishments while showcasing your expertise on a subject.

Without a doubt, if you are job hunting, or planning to, you should have a blog. Why? I can offer lots of reasons. One big reason is that some of your competitors are doing it. For that reason alone, and since you don’t know who those people are, it becomes a CYA reason– “cover your a…”. and when they mention it to the recruiter,  advantage goes to your competition, if you don’t have one. Here is a list of other reasons:

  1. you can display your area of expertise
  2. it enriches the recruiter’s source material about you without turning your resume into an encyclopedia, a complement to a resume
  3. you may build a following and be able to show your wisdom is sought by others
  4. there are lots of free blogger sites and setting up a blog is made to be nearly a no-brainer
  5. you might attract the attention of the very employer you some day wish to work for
  6. you can demonstrate something about your character, talent, writing, and communication skills, and much more, all of which can tie into the job performance itself
  7. you can talk about your past successes,  without revealing any confidential information, of course
  8. you can add it to your resume as one of your hobbies or recreational pursuits
  9. it gives you a reason to keep yourself tuned into leading developments in your particular field
  10. if you allow comments and feedback, it can be a great way to keep your finger on the pulse of your readership. Employees who are “in tune” with the marketplace are very much in demand.

What kind of blog should you have?

There are no limitations. You can put up something as a fun venture or as a serious venture. If you are planning to enter into a specific career area, or to change jobs for one of more responsibility, you may be able to design your blog to complement your pursuit. But make your blog SPECIFIC to one theme. Don’t jump around from subject matter to subject matter within the one blog. You’ll destroy the sense and “feeling”, the cohesion of the blog’s theme. For example, the blog featured in the photo insert at the top of the page shows a rigid conformity to one particular theme which is reflected in its site title and throughout the posts on the site:  http://atrial-fib.blogspot.ca/   Think carefully of an appropriate theme, pick a PUBLOG title that makes sense for that theme, and keep your articles tied tightly to that theme. Pick a theme relevant to your job seeking objectives then stick to that theme.

Be alert to the fact that you are using this blog to impress POTENTIAL future recruiters who may choose to visit the blog. Put your best foot forward. Watch for signs of laziness such as spelling mistakes, bad grammar, etc. If you can work in posts about winning relevant awards or various forms of peer recognition, do so for, you turn your mere blog into a PUBLOG.

Summer is coming…someday!!  So, be sure to

stop by “Health-WISE” and read our recent nugget about “…sunscreen DANGER.”