January 17, 2011
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This is the same as me suggesting you journal every night before bed. Why don’t people seem to do that anymore? Remember when we all used to have diaries and journals and took them everywhere we went so we could babble about things going on in our lives every night?
When I first started traveling years ago, I remember people excitedly asking me if I wrote or kept a journal which I told them yes of course. The replies would always be the positive “Good for you’s” and “You’ll be thankful someday that you have a log of what you have done.” I couldn’t agree more. Flash forward a bunch of years and for some reason when people catch wind that you have a blog, the eyes roll and they often mumble “Oh jesus, everyone has a blog these days.” (At least this seems to be the response I often get.) Perhaps those people don’t understand that blog is short for web-log, and that the only difference between a paper-log and a web-log is a pencil and the option to either keep it to yourself of share with the world. I choose to share my journal with the world.
I know a bunch of folks who have blogs that no one knows about. I never started writing Blue Lollipop Road because I wanted to be rich and famous or have gazillions of people reading. I started writing this because I was busting at the seams to share information and stories about my adventures. After that 90th delicious sandwich somewhere in state X, or amazing photo I captured somewhere, I wanted a place to share my life. I had also started becoming the human Google for friends and family: “Where should we got eat here, and what’s cool to check out there?” would be the subject of many of my conversations. Nothing made me happier than passing on inside scoop about neat stuff to eat, check out. I always kept a hand-written journal, on personal thoughts, feelings and travel information, but I moved around a bunch and started collecting piles of those paper journals that would just sit in boxes. I thought a bunch of dusty books needed to become something more, so one day in 2008 I was driving along the beach in NC and Blue Lollipop Road popped in my head out of nowhere. I would start a blog. The rest is history. Today is post #840 and my little BLR has taken on a life of it’s own that I never expected.
I am sharing all this because during my several months of sending resumes, attempting to connect with companies I think are great, discussions with unemployed friends or those who are looking for a career change, and more, the subject of this blog has come up consistently. In brainstorming back and forth ideas: How do we perfect a resume? What sets us apart from the rest of the stack of eggshell white slips of paper on someone’s desk that are supposedly going to give our next potential employer insight to what we have worked our butts off doing over the past 20 years? Funny enough, nearly every single program or company I have contacted about potential work/collaboration, has written back and commented on this blog and not even mentioned my resume. 37 Signals wrote about conventional resumes being “dead’ in their book REWORK. They are right. If you want to get in front of someone and shine, you need to show the brand of YOU far beyond just a resume.
That leads me to my suggesting that if you don’t have a blog, start one. Whether anyone will ever see it or not, it can become an optional feather in your cap or your one up on the competition.
Buy a domain name at Go Daddy (I can send a promo code that will get you a discount if you email me: diane(AT)bluelollipoproad(DOT)com. Choose something you thing fits you, your first and last name, a name of a hobby you like, a business name you’ve always daydreamed of, etc.) Choose a blog template that’s free through Blogger, WordPress, or Tumblr, and start posting. Call Go Daddy if you have ANY questions about your domain name, how to use it, or how to set up your free email address you get with domain purchase. (It’s all less than $10- anyone can afford that.) When you dial the Go Daddy number, an actual person answers and they are amazing. They will walk you through anything you need. You are interesting and have plenty to post about. No you do not need to know anything about coding or some complicated web-building tool, it’s all dummy-proof, and I am an example of that. I know zero about building a custom site. You poke around a figure it out. You don’t have to babble on and on for hundreds of posts or become a professional writer. Just post a couple lines on your thoughts, maybe a link to a website you like, a book you read, some article you thought was funny. Put up a photo of your dog, your favorite shoes, the bottle of beer you drank last night, or that time you hiked Mount Everest. Simple as that. Do that every day. Then, either add your new blog (domain name www.blahblah.com) to the “Activities and Interests” portion of your resume or include it in your email/cover letter to whatever company you are applying to work with.
Doing something like blogging consistently, in the pile of your other massive talents, showcases the brand of YOU. What you do, read, think about, and who you are (whether it’s winning a knitting championship, playing with bugs, or being an ultra-marathoner) will make you shine a little brighter in that stack of horribly boring and antiquated resumes. Remember to always write and publish things that are AUTHENTICALLY YOU. How you would speak conversationally. Be relatable. No bull that you think will make you cool, fancy or score some perfect job. That’s not the point, you are simply making a practice of doing something consistently that keeps your mind engaged and holds you accountable to your own personal goals. Companies love that. People appreciate authenticity, and will see through a fake. They will always side to buy into someone they’re comfortable they’re getting the real deal with. Share things. Show the world who you are and why they should trust and buy into you.
If you need help, have questions, or would like to brainstorm, comment here or shoot me an email. We can have a phone chat. I’d love to help anytime.
Now go get your blog on!
