Experts: More Job Seekers Using Blogs As Resumes

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Job seekers have a new way to stand out from the pack of prospects.
There is now no need to knock on any doors, call recruiters or even send a resume.
1 b  J3 v  Q- B5 R( b3 sForget online job boards or even old-fashioned networking.
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The hottest way to land a dream job is to write a blog, a Web journal of sorts.
. r8 Y& ?" S, B2 V) C4 H* H, B“There’s definitely a trend to using blogs both for looking for a job and a recruiter looking for a prospect or a new employee,” said Debbie Weil, author of “The Corporate Blogging Book.”
8 R& i: f) Y7 s! X% jExperts said blogs can give employers insight into a person’s writing ability and how one thinks. Blogs also provide a more in-depth look at qualifications than a standard resume.
5 G6 s; P; v; E* R7 d/ N6 l“There’s so much more you can put on a blog. You can put video, you can put pictures, you can write in a much more expansive way about who you are and what you know about,” said Weil.
With more than 75 million blogs on the Web right now, recruiters and employers ranging from national superstores to Internet companies are using these online journals to search for talent.
“Blogs are a great way to find employees,” said Russell Glass of ZoomInfo.com.
! T% n: O5 o$ P/ A9 \: a9 kGlass selected Brian Balfour to work for his Internet search engine company because of his blogs on social networking.
& b# B9 n' O" e/ O2 P2 M, q“The most impressive thing about Brian’s blog was how each post was succinct yet on target,” said Glass.
( ^4 a8 f0 P) r% V1 l% DBalfour said the unsolicited job offer surprised him at first since his blog was relatively new. But it couldn’t have come at a better time.
: [: U) T! W% R9 ]“I had just come off of selling a previous company that I owned, and I was looking for new opportunities,” said Balfour.
Experts said it’s critical to focus your topics on your industry and highlight what you know.
8 ^- N# C- t" p; g2 S“It’s pretty easy to show you’re on top of industry issues by referring to an article in the Wall Street Journal or a trade magazine related to what you do,” said Weil.
Balfour added, “You want to try and be creative, be yourself, show your personality.”
Pay close attention to your writing style, spelling and grammar, experts recommended. Also, avoid anything too controversial or personal.
# ?8 m6 Q) ]/ a! @“Basically, if you wouldn’t want an employer to see it or read it, I wouldn’t post it on your blog,” said Glass.
% A4 J8 g$ ?% M( Z. j0 K# I5 ABalfour is happy in his new position but is amused he is still getting job offers.
“I have been contacted quite a few times from my blog to be hired,” said Balfour.
* I3 B$ Q7 o$ H# \9 S  xSome companies are now creating their own blogs as a recruiting tool. They often include information about the company, personal stories from employees and details on how to apply for a job.
If you are writing a blog and want to get noticed, experts said it is important to increase your readership.
4 ~4 T2 _* v2 c# D! V" R) YOne way to do that is to post comments on popular blogs that are similar to yours and to leave a link to your blog.
That way, experts said, readers will click through to get to your Web site.