If you’re going to job interviews with just your resume then you’re way behind the times. Your resume is an important tool for getting a job interview, but it will never never get you the job because it doesn’t show prospective employers what it is really like to work with you.
Most of the time the interview gets you the job, but traditional job interviews have their drawbacks. That’s why the interview process is so tricky. The employer is trying to get to know you and your work in an artificial setting.
A professional blog helps someone get to know you. Chris Brogan says “having a blog that shows your business potential beats having a resume.” And most telecommuters don’t have one.
There are lot’s of excuses:
- I don’t want to update something every week
- I’m not a writer
- I don’t have anything to say.
Don’t listen to them. If you want to get a job as a teleworker you need somewhere potential employers can see your work.
Your professional blog
Don’t update your professional blog every day or even every week. Once a month may even be too much. The goal of your professional blog is not to create a following or sell ads. You professional blog is for people who want to get more details about what you can do and how you communication. It must be thought out, detailed, and well written, and nobody can do that every day.
Think of it more like your portfolio. Put your best stuff in there.
Don’t listen to the excuses
I went through every excuse before I started my professional blog. In the end I just had to take the chance and try to show off my essential teleworking skills.
Writing is an essential part of telecommuting. Karl Fogel, a founder of the Subversion version control system, puts good written communication at the top of his list for what it takes to be a successful member of a distributed team. I dedicated an entire chapter of my book to being a better writer.
You do have something to say. You have impressive skills and projects you’re proud of. Write about them. Give enough information so that someone who isn’t familiar with your product or your company can understand them. Write about why you did what you did and why you are passionate about it.
Make your professional blog helpful to other people. Saying that you’re great isn’t very convincing; show them. Show something you can do that is helpful to other people. It doesn’t need to be very difficult, just make it clear and simple.
John Resig, the creator of the JQuery framework and a JavaScript evangelist for Mozilla, is a master of the professional blog. His blog at www.ejohn.org gives an impressive list of recent projects and blog posts. There are some large projects, but many smaller ones as well. You probably create potential small projects all the time. Write about them. It will help your career by showing what its like to work with you and demonstrating your writing ability.
Next week I’ll give you a detailed view of my professional blog and a few more reasons why you need one too.