Blogging to get hired, does it work?

Although a resumes can tell a hiring manager much about your employment qualifications, work experience and so on. Unfortunately, it does not easily portray key job attributes like passion, confidence, and patience etc. which are essential to job success.

Recently, I read an interesting employment article about the use of blogs in recruitment and staffing. It cites examples of how companies use blogs to attract talent and also suggests employers should consider an applicant’s blog in the hiring decision.

When I first considered the suggestion of reviewing an applicant’s blog as part of the hiring process, my HR concerns about discrimination and consistency of screening was tested. That is, what if the other applicants did not have a blog? Then how would that process be fair, defensible and consistent? Also, there is no proof that there is a correlation between the quality of a blog and job performance. That is, in any employee population, there are star performers who do not blog and there under performers who do have a blog. If we put aside all the practical and legal employment concerns, there is some merit to this suggestion.

Then there is a question of discriminatory allegations. Employers may judge you on pictures, unrelated work information, privacy etc. This has been an issue in the past with employers mentally critiquing job seekers based on their Facebook profiles; the same would apply with a personal blog.

If we see an applicant’s blog like a work sample, then maybe we might have a different perspective. If an applicant has a career related blog, then the frequency and intensity of this blog can indicate a candidate’s passion, or at least passion about a specific subject. The blog content can also represent the quality of their thoughts can indicate their subject matter knowledge and expertise. Is the applicant a thought leader? Are they current in their field? Also, if written communication is an essential job requirement, blogs can demonstrate an author’s ability to communicate ideas and so forth.

Currently, the use of blogs is not yet standard practice in staffing and recruitment. But with the growing popularity of this media, perhaps one day soon it might be common practice to see applicant’s blog address on their resume right next to their name and contact info.

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