Comments on: Hiring Is a Conversation

By: Connie Reece

Connie Reece — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 17:27:16 +0000

Beth, thanks for your input. I think the majority of companies are now Googling the names of potential hires to see what comes up. At least those that aren’t small, local businesses. Depending on the job you’re applying for, it might make sense to point to your blog as an example of your writing/networking skills.

If you’re looking for a job in communications, especially anything that has to do with social media, then your blog, Facebook profile, etc. become critical. Jason Falls had a great post that was actually a job announcement. Because they were looking for a social media person, they did the recruiting completely on social networks.

By: Beth Harte

Beth Harte — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 17:17:54 +0000

Connie, I read this a while ago and have been thinking about it ever since. I really agree with the comment. My marketing blog is new, but I find it gives me the platform to discuss marketing topics that might not be part of my day-to-day job. What I am not so sure about is if employers or potential hiring companies look at employees/applicants’ blogs (if they have one) let alone understand the time and commitment that goes into a blog.

The other thing I wonder about is that if everyone thought that a potential employer might find their ‘personal’ blog, Facebook, MySpace, etc. how much would that cut back on creativity, fun, etc.

I’d venture to guess that only savvy companies would look beyond the resume and LinkedIn profile.

Thanks Connie, a lot of food for thought here!

By: AaronMSB

AaronMSB — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 15:50:23 +0000

In response to Brenda. I think that people would be fine with their boss or potential boss taking a look at their myspace/blog for two very different reasons. One, they have no scandalous content thereâ€”they have written and posted with respect to the fact that things live forever on the internet. Or two, they are generally apatheticâ€”they don’t know or can’t tell what their blog says about them.

I hope it’s the former but dread it’s the latter. Could it be? If Neil Postman was right in 1985 with “Amusing Ourselves to Death,” what would apply now that you don’t have to leave your desk chair to feel like you know someone. Yikes!

By: Shaine Mata › My Blog is a Resume?

Shaine Mata › My Blog is a Resume? — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 13:31:29 +0000

[...] Reece is also joining the discussion in her post Hiring Is a Conversation. Feel free to chime in on the [...]

By: Brenda Thompson

Brenda Thompson — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 20:42:10 +0000

Check out the Austin Business Journal’s survey related to this topic. So far, 72 percent wouldn’t mind if their boss or potential boss googled them or found their blog/MySpace page.
http://www.bizjournals.com/austin/poll/index.html

By: Shaine

Shaine — Tue, 12 Jun 2007 16:22:41 +0000

Perhaps companies want employees that will plug and play. In order to save money on training somebody, they would rather hire on those who fit the qualifications. The distinction is hiring the best person for the job rather than the best person for the team. I’ve had my hand at getting somebody hired for the job, but who irritated everybody. The job got done, but there is all kinds of weirdness. We should have talked to the candidate first.

By: Connie Reece

Connie Reece — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 20:25:30 +0000

Ryan, congratulations on landing a job interview because of your blog. Best of luck to you!

Ben, that’s an excellent question: “why is the hiring process right now so overly burdened by process?”

Especially in larger companies there is concern over legal ramifications, government/union requirements, corporate traditions and practices, lengthy job descriptions and qualifications plus the need to determine … You’re right, we add a lot of layers that make it harder to discover the real person even though we know a lot of “facts” about them.

By: Ben Yoskovitz

Ben Yoskovitz — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 02:50:07 +0000

The blog is a powerful tool to help you get hired, unless you’re blogging about something you don’t want employers and potential employers to know, in which case you’ve got a whole different problem.

In my statement, “hiring is a conversation” I’m not referring specifically to blogs, but that’s a component – since most of us will agree on the conversational value of blogging.

For me, it comes down to the frustration that when you hire someone, you should be hiring a person (not a resource). And hiring people means speaking to them, having a conversation and connecting. If that’s the case, then why is the hiring process right now so overly burdened by process?

By: Ryan Karpeles

Ryan Karpeles — Thu, 07 Jun 2007 22:36:20 +0000

Connie,

Just thought I’d share this little story, as it fits exactly with your post:

Just got a phone call from the head of Meeting Tomorrow. (Mentioned here at Seth’s blog: http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2007/05/the_netflixing_.html)

He read my blog. He became quite interested. He called me. We set up an interview for next Thursday. Who knows if I’ll work there, but the blog did what resumes are designed to do: get interviews.

Blog is the new resume. No question about it.

By: Brenda Thompson

Brenda Thompson — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 22:53:44 +0000

Call me naive, but it’s hard to imagine any hiring manager not looking online for information about prospective employees. (Especially when candid references are so hard to come by.) One of the ways I’ve vetted student intern candidates is through Facebook. Some of the candidates who looked good on paper had information online that made it easy to cross them off my list. I’ve advised many students to consider that their potential employers are very likely to see their profiles and anything else they’ve written or posted online under their name.