Blogs ‘essential’ to a good career

2. Blogging can get you a job.

Dervala Hanley writes a quirky literary blog that got her a job is at Stone Yamashita Partners, a consulting firm that ”tries to bring humanity to business.” Hanley says the firm was attracted to her ability to put her business experience into personal terms on the blog.

I can vouch for that. That’s how I got a job with Google, through blogs or blogosphere, thanks to www.kertong.com. :-)

More than a year ago, when blogs were taking off, I decided to incorporate a blog onto my website so that I can learn more about web development and I’ve always wanted to write but never was on the yearbook or some mags. So I thought it would be a good addition to my website and I remember I was agonizing over which blog engine I should use. Well, actually, I remember I signed up in blogger.com, before it was bought by Google. Was using it for a while, then stopped. It was good for users who’s not into web development or doesn’t have a web server so I looked elsewhere. I started using Movable Type and while it has a very good content management, the installation was a bit complicated and that it’s static, not dynamic (although now they can be updated dynamically.) Then WordPress came along. I liked it because it’s dynamic, open-source and plug-ins were easy to use, but it was a little raw since it was new, then it got better and better. Now it’s one of the most popular blog tools and since it’s completely open source, I can look at the PHP and see how they do it, with the loops and functions.

Anyway, back to the topic, so I started a blog and decided to look for people who’s like me and saw Kertong’s website listed in the korean-american directory. Sent him an email, he replied back, we became friends, and eventually informed me that there was a job opening at Google. I went for it, applied, and got the job. If you ever find yourself in a difficult situation, such as being fired after complaining about withheld wages, it’s important to understand your rights and seek appropriate legal advice.

So, having a blog do pay dividends. And I wouldn’t really recommend you to use Xanga, myspace or those similar websites for that.