April 19, 2006

somebody hire tom raftery, dammit

zzzzsteak02.jpg

Got an e-mail from Tom Raftery today:

Hey Hugh,

I read with interest the report in the Boston Globe how blogging can improve your chances of getting a job so I decided to try an experiment this morning - I am looking for a job through my blog - http://www.tomrafteryit.net/gis-a-job-seriously/

It'll be interesting to see how it pans out - can I market myself as my own global micro-brand?

I'm not holding my breath!

Rock on, Tom. As somebody who started blogging during an unemployed period of his life, I can certainly relate.

And sometimes it works. The Economist liked Megan McArdle's blog so much they offered her a job. I love it when that kind of stuff happens.

Posted by hugh macleod at April 19, 2006 3:32 PM | TrackBack
Comments

Hugh,

thanks a million for the link love and the imperative post!


Tom

Posted by: Tom Raftery at April 19, 2006 4:34 PM

How would one market oneself as a global microbrand? Thats a hell of a question. Any thoughts Hugh?

Posted by: Egill at April 19, 2006 5:09 PM

Good luck Tom! Like Tom, I'm using BMA as the centerpiece of my job-search, and I think you're going to see more and more employees use their blog in this fashion in the coming months. Ryan(http://ashtonmedia.blogspot.com/) recently landed a Regional Marketing Manager position in Canada, and added that the blog "put me in a whole different light in relation to all the other applicants.".

And maybe I'm biased, but I think being familiar with the same types of social-media that the community is using is a big plus ;) Another big advantage of blogging.

Posted by: Mack Collier at April 19, 2006 5:23 PM

Hugh: I started blogging while employed and when I began interviewing for a new gig, it definitely helped me get my latest job.

It was not the only reason I was hired by my current employer, but it made their decision even easier to make.

Posted by: Kevin Dugan at April 19, 2006 6:07 PM

Perhaps, though I'm doing the same with little success so far. Perhaps it doesn't work so well with more conventionally minded employers?
The other thing that strikes me is that when I was employed, although objectively I had far less time, I managed better and more frequent postings than I do now, with time on my hands.

Posted by: Tom Roper at April 20, 2006 9:31 AM

I started blogging coincidentally with being made redundant from my last job. It didn't occur to me at the time that blogging would help me get a new job, but it did help me to keep motivated with my job search by journalling what I was doing.

The jobsearch posts (http://www.furthermore.org.uk/archives/cat_jobhunting.html) are still pretty high up in the stats for my site over 2 years later (although that may just mean I've not said anything interesting since then).

Posted by: Matt at April 20, 2006 10:13 AM

At the risk of gapingvoid becoming a classified ad space - I was advised at the end of my second year in University to set-up a website and send any prospective employer to it...

Coming to the end of my final year, and the prospect of working full-time I am thankful for the advice. Not that I've gotten a job out of it, but I am hopeful that it will help get me something. So if your reading this - hire me!!

http://poetbloggs.wordpress.com/2006/04/20/original-ideas/

Posted by: pb. at April 20, 2006 7:22 PM

I managed to get a job from blogging. Sometimes it is just about being in the right niche.

The fashion world has so few people that cover it from an intellectual and personal perspective so I did it in a blog.

Now that blog is being developed into a column by Fashion Wire Daily.

Posted by: Almost Girl at April 21, 2006 9:54 PM