Blogging Your Way to a Good Job

By Joyce Lain Kennedy, author of the syndicated “Careers Now” column.  She’s been an expert in employment for nearly four decades. Her work is distributed by Tribune Media Services.

Larry Hughes used a channel leading to employment that hasn’t been tested by most professional and managerial job seekers: blogging. Previously, he directed publicity at HarperCollins, a major book publisher. When his division folded, Hughes was cut loose.

Taking action. In a down economy, his strategy was launching his blog to publicize himself into a new position. As he explained:

“Competition for jobs (was) fierce.  I knew I had to do something beyond sending out resumes, searching job sites, pressing for interviews, and the things you do looking for a job. I decided to publicize myself.”

Success. The idea: keep his talents in front of the publishing industry.  Result: Hughes is starting a new job; associate director of publicity for Free Press, part of book-publishing giant Simon & Schuster.

Evaluation. Were blogging and self-promotion responsible for his new job? “Hard to say,” Hughes recalls:

“It finally came about the way it often does.  A friend alerted me to an opening and connected me to the appropriate party. Still, I believe that publicity I generated played a part, even if subliminal. No one said, ‘I saw you on CNN.  I’d like to hire you.’ But I think that if someone in the industry was looking to fill a position, and my name came up, they would say: ‘Yeah — I’ve heard of him.’ ”

Shortcut. You want to reach out in job-finding directions but don’t have time for your own blog;  contribute occasional postings to blogs other maintain.

Even more efficient is to find someone blogging for a company where you want to work.  Make comments on that person’s blog.

Career coach Fred Whelan (whelanstone.com) says: “People who blog appreciate responses. Doing so raises your profile with that person. You may develop an inside contact who will let you know of unadvertised jobs and get your resume to the hiring.”

[note: while Larry was creative, old fashioned Networking was the ultimate job source.  John]