Greetings and salutations!
If you’ve come here looking for a reason or twelve to hire or not hire me, I’ve tried to make this all very convenient for you.
You see, I write a little blog (this guy right here is my pride and joy. I nursed it from baby blog status back on the dawn of my 29th birthday to the point we’re at today. I make a few dollars, have a small community of friends and followers, and write unabashedly about my life), and it has come to my attention that this may worry you.
I realize that it may seem scary to consider a candidate who openly uses the word, “fuck” in more than a few blog posts, but I’ve made a commitment to my community to give more fucks this year, both in the usage of the word and in the caring of my little toddler blog. The internet still likes me when I curse (if they don’t like me even more for it), and it’s a nice release from the professional demeanor that is necessary in the real world. In other words, I swear here so that I can maintain professionalism in other aspects of my life.
Speaking of my life, you may also be concerned that I may write about you or your company negatively. I’ve made it a mission of mine to keep my work place out of this blog most of the time. I have never written negatively about a current or recent employer, nor would I want to jeopardize my career to do so. If I do mention work, it’s directly related to myself or coworkers who’ve given me permission to do so. When writing about my past, I remove any identifiers in order to protect people and places whose actions or existences have shaped me.
I care about my real world career, and I care about my digital career. I would keep them separate, but the experience I’ve received from this little hobby of mine is twice what I’ve received in the workplace. I have a desire to constantly learn and improve upon my knowledge, and here, there’s no one person to tell me how to do it. This blog has made me a better person, and has given life to a whole world of friendship.
If you wish to hire me, you’ll have to accept all of me, and that includes this blog, which is sometimes a caricature of myself and my life, and other times it is raw and real.
Thanks,
CW
Hey blog friends, have you ever felt like your digital life was impacting your career search? What’s the most difficult part of job hunting? If you were a hiring manager, how would you respond to a candidate who had a very public digital life?
18 Responses
I love this post! Blogging makes you such a better writer. You get to fully stretch your wings, take chances and say things and really hone in on your style. Anybody who has a proper writing job should have a blog.
And you’re way better than me, if I had a coworker that pissed me off I go right on my blog and say, That stupid bitch! Or if my boss pissed me off… My boss is such a dumb fuck! I’m pretty sure all he does all day is sit at his desk and jerk off to Barbra Streisand.
You’re so sweet to me! And totally right. Every professional writer should have a blog.
And LOL. Sometimes it’s more difficult than others 😉
I have to be veeeery careful with anything I post about work. I could get in trouble for all sorts of different reasons. So I usually don’t talk about work except in very vague ways like “work was rough today”. but I don’t currently blog, I have an old, unhappy one that I haven’t been able to bring myself to post on or delete in years. someone asked me to create a blog about work, and I’ve considered it, but I think it could potentially bring me a lot of problems
I’m not sure what you do, but I know there are many professions out there that don’t offer the luxury of allowing a digital footprint. I started this blog after a VERY conscious decision that I didn’t want to be a teacher. And.you could write an anonymous blog if you really wanted to put yourself out there in the blog world…or at the very least…WRITE IT ALL DOWN. 🙂
As a professional writer though, I shouldn’t have to worry and employers finding my personal work offensive. As long as I can do my job and do it well, it shouldn’t matter whether I can find 37 different ways to use the word fuck. 🙂
You tell em’ girl! Very few people I work with know I have a blog, and I make sure to never write about anything work related. Keeps it easier that way!
Definitely! I know there are some great stories, and even some very important ones…but I’ll hold off on telling those stories while the people and places are identifiable.
“I swear here so I can maintain professionalism in other aspects of my life” = BRILLIANT! I need to save this letter for future reference. Brilliant!
Hahaha! Thank you, lovely! You should hang onto it. Feel free to direct your future employers this way 😉
This has made me think a bit, it’s probably a very wise thing to do not to mention your career or your workplace in any of your posts. Unfortunately for me, most of the ‘funny’ things that I want to share happen to me there and so if I didn’t I’m not sure what I’d write instead. Uh oh.
Hahaha! I have SO much amazing material from my current job too. I just chalk it away to memory and hope I can use it in fiction somewhere someday.
This is why I’ve never promoted my blog the way I could have. And why I don’t put my picture on my blog. I also don’t post on my personal facebook or LinkedIn that I’m a blogger. I’m all incognito that way.
Like a boss!
I’m too much of a look-at-me extrovert to be incognito 😉
LOL. The number of selfie’s you take supports that statement 😉
I’m still a selfie virgin. I’m pretty sure that I’m a vampire and that if someone actually takes my photograph I won’t appear in it. So there’s that theory. That or I’m just REALLY good at avoiding people that have a camera in their hands.
True story. You should totally take a selfie. Just for funsies.
My friend took a picture of me and Jasper while we were chatting on Skype once. Does that count?
Nope. Gotta take it yourself 😉
First, let me apologize and hang my head in shame that I haven’t been a subscriber until now 🙁 I do read you on Bloppy feed, so there’s that.
Anyway, great post!! We’re all muliti-dimensional and any potential hiring entity better figure that out! Anyone would be lucky to have you! I’d hire you any day.
No need for shame! I am the worst at subscribing to blogs. I think I just signed up for your e-mails a couple months ago (and I seriously LOVE reading your posts).
And thank you! I hope that any future employer can see through my loud blog BS and realize that I’m a damn fine employee! 🙂