« Blog as the Resume of the 21st Century... or not »

The Wizard and I regularly debate the value of blogs.  He's of the mind that blogs are at the epoch of the their popularity, and that there will be a vast majority of the population who will never engage in the activity.  Moreover, he is convinced that blogs will ultimately die a slow death, and are simply a flash in the pan.  He may be right.  Sort of.

There is a generation who will never find the on-line bug.  The bug that encourages you to try out new technologies, to invest in on-line applications,  to immerse yourself in the greater atmosphere of the internet.  Folks who won't use Skype, or IM or wireless. Folks who simply are grounded in web 1.0

That being said, there is the next generation, the newbies who are podcasting, and IM'ing with their phones, and setting up MySpace sites.  The people who ARE sharing music, who are making maps of the best pubs in chicago.  People who are attending conferences and live chats.  My gut says that these are the people who are going to run the world some day.

A lynchpin in discussions between the Wiz and I is the debate of using your blog as your resume.  Or, at very least, having your URL on your resume.  He is adament that the day will never come. His peers are likeminded. Me, well, now that my indentity has evolved, and my online presence is gelling, I have a feeling that my next resume will indeed have my url.  It's all about audience.  And it's all about identity. 

Finally people are starting to realize, with the internet, as with everything in life, you have to accurately portray yourself, or face the consequences.

What do you think - would you put your blog URL in your resume?

For Some, Online Persona Undermines a Résumé - New York Times

For Some, Online Persona Undermines a RésuméBy ALAN FINDERWhen a small consulting company in Chicago was looking to hire a summer intern this month, the company's president went online to check on a promising candidate who had just graduated from the University of Illinois.At Facebook, a popular social networking site, the executive found the candidate's Web page with this description of his interests: "smokin' blunts" (cigars hollowed out and stuffed with marijuana), shooting people and obsessive sex, all described in vivid slang.It did not matter that the student was clearly posturing. He was done."A lot of it makes me think, what kind of judgment does this person have?" said the company's president, Brad Karsh. "Why are you allowing this to be viewed publicly, effectively, or semipublicly?"

Technorati Tags: blogs, resumes, blog future

Comments

[Krk]

Lots of blogs for lots of people (and their various personalities). Some are good enough to go on a resume, but opinions change and the internet has a long memory.

[Jorge]

The internet does indeed have a long memory, Krk. I have two blogs. One for photography, and one for writing. I would put my Photography blog up for display on a resume rather than my other one. Not that the other one is bad for my career path. It's just more of a "variety show" of what's in my head (not work-related).

[Adrian]

Question not the relevence of blogs or blogging.

Question instead the relevence of having a resume. As noted, the Internet does have a long memory, and like DNA, our online pasts cannot be hidden from.

I've written things that would preclude me being hired by any but the most liberal of companies. I've (accidentally or otherwise) filtered out any potential employer I probably wouldn't get along with anyway. That might be good, but I bet it has a negative impact on the girth of my wallet.

Eventually this will all catch up with us, and we'll either laugh (in Jorge's case) or cry (in mine).

I can live with that.

[jules]

you guys are all entirely too reasonable ;-)
Krk - nice insight into the memory of the internet ;-)

I'm interested in becoming an online personality, and then turning that into a career.... google robert scoble or tara hunt.

they are indeed famous.

[Adrian]

Hmm.

Online personality is not all its cracked up to be. send me an email if you want to know any details.

Scoble's famous. The most famous corporate blogger.

I don't know so much from Hunt.

[Jorge]

If there is some contest for online personalitification, then I will vote for you, Jules.

Only if you let me ride your coat-tails, and buy all my photos.
:)

[Nola Redd]

I think you make a good point on the relevence of blogs. I don't have a problem if someone googles me and finds my blog. But I do know several folks who do. I wrote an entry in my blog on how the closer look at the online persona affects small business owners, if anyone is interested.
As for the blog actually functioning as a resume...I suppose it depends on what type of blog you have! :D

[Jorge]

Even insofar as leaving comments. There are many examples of people (i'm sure) who would be vastly different from what they appear to be.

Adrian and I were having a conversation about this the other day. And indeed, it is true that we present what we would want people to see. However, the possibility always exists of someone delving deeper...

[Adrian]

Yup. As Jorge says, a blog (or painting, or piece of music, or book, or anything, really) can only give people a glimpse of the personality behind it from a very limited point of perspective.

Without being deceitful about who we are, we are capable of presenting completely different aspects of ourselves to people.

My blog presents me one way, meeting me will present me in a completely different way.

[Jorge]

It is unfortunate, though, that there exist people who will forever present themselves in a way that is not truthful.

Or perhaps, it would be more accurate to say that they will forever present the side of themselves that is not real.

[Nola Redd]

People all over the world, in real life, present themselves as ways that are not real. Look at high school - a whole section of people being sliced to conform. Or look at the business sector - most people are content to put their head down and not make waves. Blogs just mean that now we can falsly present ourselves to millions every day instead of the handful of people we regularly come in contact with.

[Adrian]

What is truth?

I've been asked every day for the last week: What is fact and what is fiction?

I know some of the answer to that. Jorge knows some of the answers, and other readers know different answers.

The people who are presenting themselves in an "untruthful" way are showing a side of themselves that is true.

Think about it.

[Jorge]

That is a much better way of saying what I said.

Thanks man.

You always have the other half of my words.
:)

Give them back, you jerk. Hahahaha.

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