Does blogging make you a better candidate for Microsoft?

re: Does blogging make you a better candidate for Microsoft?

Robert Hurlbut — Fri, 14 May 2004 21:56:00 GMT

Interesting. I have also seen concerns about blogs from the security perspective. You hinted on this above:

>
Don't provide anything that could be considered a breach of any confidentiality (or other agreements) you have signed or shows any lack of loyalty for previous employers.
>

I would make it bolder:

- DON'T tell everything about your work environment, including product secrets, technologies, etc. that could be used to compromise your employer.

Should be obvious, but a good reminder.

re: Does blogging make you a better candidate for Microsoft?

Jeremy C. Wright — Sat, 15 May 2004 01:20:00 GMT

Good post Heather. I've always worried about including my blog. Ultimately I do it because it does speak of me. But, for recruiters who don't understand that blogs are a snapshot in time it can be an... Interesting way of evaluating someone.

It's not like your'e seeing all the dozens of articles someone's written. It's more like you're (often) reading a professional and personal diary in one. And that can be dangerous information to have out in the open.

I've had several job opportunities fall through because people have read my blog and didn't like how open I was with ideas or struggles or achievements. At the same time, I've had many more open up because of blogging.

I won't stop, but I am always nervous when someone says they've read my blog ;-)

re: Does blogging make you a better candidate for Microsoft?

Anatoly Lubarsky — Sat, 15 May 2004 01:50:00 GMT

Good and clear post. Don't include your blog in resume if you are not stupid - it is obvious.

But I didn't like the following: If you write A this means B, if you write C it means D and E and if you write it in the business hours it means F and H. Looks like electric board. I saw triggers and switches in my mind. Who cares ? Write anything you want in your blog, just don't link to it from resume.

re: Does blogging make you a better candidate for Microsoft?

Chris Sells — Sun, 16 May 2004 03:27:00 GMT

Yikes. I guess this page [1] didn't do me any good then did it, Heather? Likewise with this picture [2]. I must've just squeaked by... : )

BTW, Jeremy, I'm with you re: "I am always nervous when someone says they've read my blog." Being brand new to MS at the time and at the bottom of the management chain, I was quite taken aback when an infamous Sr. VP responded with "I've read your blog" when I introduced myself.

[1] http://www.sellsbrothers.com/fun/msiview
[2] http://www.sellsbrothers.com/fun/centerfold

re: Does blogging make you a better candidate for Microsoft?

Heather — Mon, 17 May 2004 17:03:00 GMT

Chris-we consider you a category unto yourself anyway ; ) By the way, I did see the photo, but long after you were hired! I showed it to Zoe and we got a chuckle out of it...I hope that's the reaction you were going for ; ) I guess I'm kind of relieved that I don't have anywhere to host pictures on my blog. I could never compete!

So my advice/recommendations don't hold true 100% of the time for all people. Frankly, as much as we all want to be like Chris and Scoble (with all the fans and followers that come with the visibility) we aren't.

The advice just applied to us mortals. Unfortunately, now I can't even link to my blog on resume because Chris gave the url of his centerfold ; )

Blogs and job search

JD on MX — Tue, 18 May 2004 02:46:00 GMT

Blogs and job search: I'm guessing that many reading this either have their own blogs, or had one, or have thought about it. One of the Microsoft recruiting staff suggests ways that a blog might affect a subsequent job search....

John Dowdell at Macromedia

TrackBack — Tue, 18 May 2004 00:30:00 GMT

John Dowdell at Macromedia

Lenn takes me to task...

TrackBack — Tue, 18 May 2004 01:03:00 GMT

Lenn takes me to task...

melloblog

TrackBack — Tue, 18 May 2004 01:04:00 GMT

melloblog

chris

TrackBack — Tue, 18 May 2004 01:17:00 GMT

chris

Jim at Smithwise

TrackBack — Tue, 18 May 2004 01:22:00 GMT

Jim at Smithwise

Damir

TrackBack — Tue, 18 May 2004 01:29:00 GMT

Damir

re: Does blogging make you a better candidate for Microsoft?

Heather — Tue, 18 May 2004 01:47:00 GMT

Reading through posts from some referrers, I just wanted to make sure that it is understood that I do think people should blog about whatever they want (unless it's not illegal to do so or causes serious physical injury to others; you get my point).

The question is not whether to blog about these things, it is whether to provide the link on your resume. As a recruiter, I don't search for blogs of people that I am interviewing as a regular exercise. But if the candidate provides a link on their resume I will check it out because I assume that it has some relvance to their skills or professional background since that's kind of the point of a resume. I have not seen inclusion of blog links on resumes as a practice yet, but I suspect it's not that far away. If you have stuff on your blog that you think could offend the recruiter or somehow suggest that you are less than a model employee, still blog about it if you want, but I wouldn't recommend including it on your resume.

It's more a question of one's judgement in providing the link on the resume than of the person blogging about the topic in the first place.

re: Does blogging make you a better candidate for Microsoft?

lenn® — Tue, 18 May 2004 14:42:00 GMT

Heather:

Thanks for your response in my comments. I really appreciate your perspective and hope you saw my comments on this post in the positive light that it was intended, which I think you did.

I worry that the lines will start to get blurred between what is personal blogging and what is work related in the future as companies start to suggest guidelines for their employee bloggers. More than anything, I would hate to see Microsoft get sucked into some sort of negative issue or lawsuit because of a lack of definition of what it means to be "super controversial" on your blog.

I agree that discretion in blogging is required, some people need to use more common sense even. When a company starts giving advice on blog content and does not carefully define the rules, it is tricky waters as you can see. This is a peeve of mine as you can see ;)

Either way, thanks for sharing, for answering back, and for being out there. We need more of you at Microsoft and it is especially refreshing to hear from someone who does not write code all day at Microsoft. Keep it up, and realize just how powerful your words are. Scoble and I deal with this daily, welcome to a little slice of our world ;)

lenn

Albert Tanutama

TrackBack — Tue, 18 May 2004 19:08:00 GMT

Albert Tanutama

Blogging for a Job

Thinking Digitally — Wed, 19 May 2004 10:39:00 GMT

Does blogging make you a better candidate for Microsoft? Heather Leigh over at Microsoft has an interesting entry about what you should be careful of when putting your blog on a resume. I think the idea of hiring people based...

Robert Olson agrees

TrackBack — Thu, 20 May 2004 20:18:00 GMT

Robert Olson agrees

Tejas Patel

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Tejas Patel

Michael Hagel agrees...

TrackBack — Thu, 20 May 2004 20:21:00 GMT

Michael Hagel agrees...

Michael Gartenberg at Jupiter

TrackBack — Tue, 25 May 2004 20:43:00 GMT

Michael Gartenberg at Jupiter

TrackBack — Tue, 25 May 2004 20:45:00 GMT

Michael Gartenberg at Jupiter

re: Does blogging make you a better candidate for Microsoft?

Wayne Hurlbert — Sun, 30 May 2004 12:28:00 GMT

The more I read this post, and the more that I think about it, the more I agree with it.

Blogging is becoming an additional online resume, for better or for worse. I believe it works for the better for the candidate and for the organization. A blog shows the potential employer off work interests, committment to a project, and communication skills.

In the past, it was said that the completion of a University degree showed a committment to long term goals. I have always agreed with that view. I also agree with the opinion that regular maintenance of a blog shows a committment to achieving goals.

I think bloggers would make first class employees for any organization. That certainly includes industry leaders and innovators of Microsoft's stature.