This Post was written by Lisa from Restaurant Widow.
Saturday, September 09, 2006
When Looking for New Employment...
Has anyone changed jobs since having their blog? Do you tell people about it? Especially if you are in the food service business, as I am, I'm just wondering if anyone has had any positive or negative experiences talking about it with perspective employers.
This Post was written by Lisa from Restaurant Widow.
This Post was written by Lisa from Restaurant Widow.
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9 comments:
I saw a post recently (sorry, didn't make note where) where a guy was very open and specific about what he was looking for in a post ~ there were "no comments" but who knows, there might have been e-mail exchanges. Good luck!
I never bring it up because I think my blog could be considered a negative when I have changed jobs.Its too much insight into my "non-professional" life.
I don't work in food, but I work for clients who are food related. I also just don't want any part of them trying to get me to promote their products on my site later...
Well, if I was hiring someone to work in a food service environment and they had a food blog I definitely would want to look at it. I cook professionally but keep my home cooking themed blog completely separate since I am very new to blogging and do it anonymously. The only conflict is that I get many fantastic ideas for dishes to blog about from work, where we have some amazingly gifted cooks, but don't do the posts because I would not want to steal ideas from the restaurant. I think it could be a great professional asset, though a blog for that purpose would take more attention and maintenance than mine gets presently.
I've been in a transitional place career-wise for a while, so I've had several different jobs since I started blogging. My blog is focused pretty narrowly on food; I'm just not interested in venting about things like work online. I don't go out of my way to tell prospective employers about the blog, but in my latest job hunt, I discovered that mentioning I have a food blog became a plus for me in terms of demonstrating computer skills and writing skills. I took this on a case by case basis, though, depending on how a conversation or interview was going.
I had the reverse reaction recently - if a firm doesn't like blogs, I don't like them. I've been independent for awhile, but I've been half-heartedly looking for something full-time.
Certainly weblogging isn't the first thing I mention, but building them is part of my 'skill set'. I've been surprised at the ignorance some employers have about blogs. Several web design firms I've talked to don't build blogs for clients and creative director/hiring person in a fairly large firm said "Blogs? that's like Myspace right?". It's amazing how many 'web designers' I run into don't seem to have every been on the internet for more than a few minutes.
In an ironic note, I edited this post here slightly just because I know anything I write on the internet can eventually be read by a prospective employer (or someone more critical like your mother or potential spouse). And no, I didn't edit the part about the ignorant firm, but the why I'm looking for work part.
I have told my employer about my blog because it is entirely unrelated to what I do (I am a lawyer). But at my old firm, there is NO WAY I would have shared it. I think it depends on the employer.
Like Madeline, I'm a lawyer, and since like Winslow, my blog is very narrowly focused on food, and I never discuss work, I would not go particularly out of my way to hide it. Actually, one of my coworkers currently knows about it. But I would not want to mention it at a job interview, where I would rather be focusing on things relevant to my work.
I might be able to chime in on this subject with an interesting tale soon, but not yet.
I place it in my resume :)I think it helps
but a lot of employers I've come across hardly bat an eyelid at that, so...mrzstk
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