Amy Gahran over at Poynter details why a blog is Media Career Insurance. I could probably rewrite the argument and suggestions for GIS careers,but it’d be redundant (besides,she’s a better writer than I…)
These days your online presence,professional and otherwise,is part of your resume. When I started out in GIS I recall reading that the best way to “become known”as an expert was to write articles in your field. I didn’t set out to do that,exactly,but the early writing I did in print certainly got me known and ultimately here at Directions. Now,however,everyone,CEOs,tech folks and everyone in between may be called upon to host or contribute to a blog or blogs related to their positions. Why not make it easier for potential hires to evaluate your writing skills/thinking/creativity/personality/how you react to criticism/etc. on your blog? Be yourself,but be professional. Consider the geoblogs/bloggers you read:Would you hire any of those folks? Inquire about the products the company behind them offers? If you read them even somewhat regularly,you get a sense of them,or an opinion at the very least.
I have my Penn State MGIS students post videos and reports to personal blogs and then have their peers offer questions and comments. I want them to get a feel for writing and reading blogs in a “professional”setting. I have no doubt they’ll be reading and likely writing them at some point.