Learning Strategies

“Blogging is good for your career,” said reporter Penelope Trunk in a Boston Globe article on April 16. This is a bit surprising, given all the stories about people who have been fired or not hired because of what they wrote in their blogs.

But Trunk is writing with a different point of view:

A well-executed blog sets you apart as an expert in your field.

...“For your career, a blog is essential,” says Phil van Allen, a faculty member of the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena.

“It's the new public relations and it’s the new home page. Instead of a static home page, you have your blog,” he said. It’s a way to let people know what you are thinking about the field that interests you.

Employers regularly Google prospective employees to learn more about them. Blogging gives you a way to control what employers see, because Google’s system works in such a way that blogs that are heavily networked with others come up high in Google searches.

I wonder whether I can convince my students that this cuts both ways. They are all “prospective employees,” even if not imminently, and they need to know that blogging can work both for them and against them.

Labels: technology