What does your blog say about you?

The job search is finally starting to roll. I have a second interview at a school I am very interested in, a first interview at a fascinating new charter school tomorrow, and a few other schools that I’m expecting calls from after attending a job fair over the weekend.

At the top of my resume, I have my name, phone number, address, email and I do have this web site listed. I’ve gone back and forth more times than I can count about whether it should be listed there or not. While I’m extremely proud of this site and feel it represents me as a person rather well, is it really in my best interest to have it listed on my resume?

It’s an interesting question. In many ways, this web site is more ‘true’ than my resume. Not that anything on my resume isn’t true, but it’s carefully crafted to present my strongest aspects. Nothing about that resume conveys any of my weaknesses or my real personality. It’s professional, it’s concise, and it highlights my numerous accomplishments. However, if somebody off the street wanted to get to know me, I’d point them to this site a thousand times before I gave them a resume.

I write my thoughts here. I document things I am struggling with and celebrate my successes. I address educational issues that I think need to be brought to people’s attention and share my excitement over new tools and technologies. My blog voice tends to be casual, a transcript of my thoughts as they run through my head. I would never remotely imply that this represents a sample of my ‘best’ or most professional writing. It does represent the real me rather well. Someone who has read through this weblog will have a better understanding of Steve Dembo as a person than someone who has read my resume a thousand times.

Which is more important? Which provides a potential employer more information about the person they are interviewing? As a candidate, does it really help me to have a potential employer read through this site? I’ve given it a lot of thought and I believe that referring people to this site could definitely hurt my chances for getting a specific job. Yet I continue to leave it on my resume.

The reason is because if I fail to get a job because of something someone reads on this site, then it is probably for the best. It’s easy to represent yourself well on a resume. It’s easy for someone to be impressed by a resume. It’s also easy to represent yourself well in an interview. It’s just as easy for someone to be impressed by an interview. However, you don’t really get to know somebody until you have a chance to interact with them in an authentic situation. Someone reading through this blog will get a sense of me as a person and educator. If what they see does not suit their needs, so be it. I would rather have them realize that now, versus the truth coming out throughout the course of a year.

Yes, I need a job. However, the school I have to be a good fit for the school I work at, just as the school needs to be a good fit for me. If I’m not going to be a good fit, then let’s not waste each other’s time.

It does bring up an interesting point though. As a future administrator, I would love to be able to read a potential employees weblog. The insight it would provide into them as a person would be invaluable.

For better or for worse, I’m leaving the web site address on my resume. I don’t believe I could create a more honest portfolio of myself. Any potential employer that reviews this site and still calls me for an interview will know exactly what they are getting. If a school does not call me because of this site, so be it. I am nothing if not honest.

2 Comments

Alfred Thompson
5/23/2005

Great stuff! I think that you are askign questions that a lot of people are asking. I think that in the long run linking to a blog may help you avoid more bad fits than it will keep people from good fits. At least I hope so. Good luck in the job hunt!

John Pederson
5/23/2005

I found myself in the same exact situation a few times this spring. My resume is frustratingly “static”. “Here’s a 1/4 inch deep snapshot of what I’ve done for the past 10 years.” Yawn. I’ve been reading a bunch of Seth Godin lately…great rants about marketing. Tell me about your favorite Starbucks advertisement. Right, you don’t have one. Nobody has one. Starbucks is marketed through a story. Resumes & cover letters are no different that print advertisements. Blogs are stories.

I’ve been watching your “job search” story develop for a while. Makes me want to hire you. :O)

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