5 Reasons Every College Student Should Start Blogging In 2009

Published by Ryan Healy on January 8th, 2009 in Blogging, Brazen Careerist | 9 Comments

Since founding Brazen Careerist, I've blogged less and less each month, to the point that I only posted three times in December. And that's not cool. Especially since blogging has given me more value than any other activity I do on a day-to-day basis and is the reason I have my dream job today. In short, blogging has changed my life.

So here are five reasons why every college student that wants their dream job needs to start a blog in 2009.

1. You stand out from the crowd
Jarred Taylor works in the legal department at Google in Mountain View, CA. As far as dream jobs go, Google headquarters is probably right there at the top of a lot of lists. Jarred loves his position, and he's pretty convinced that he got the job because of his blog.

"Everyone who interviewed me," Jarred says, "from the recruiter in the phone screen to the senior attorneys during the videoconference, asked me about the blog. 'What do you blog about? Why? Give an example of something you've learned from what you've researched.'"

His blog didn't have a huge following or a ton of readers, but the interviewers at Google understood that if Jarred took the time to write about his career interests in his free time, he would also go above and beyond at work. Including his blog on his resume allowed Jarred to get his dream job by standing out from the crowd.

2. People find you
I'm not all that good at seeking out people or new opportunities. I push myself, but it's not my strong suit.

The beauty of blogging is that people find you. When I posted several times per week, the amount of emails in my inbox from seemingly random people was through the roof. Publishers contacted me about writing a book, journalists sent interview requests, generational researchers asked for input, companies requested speaking engagements, and readers wrote in with career-related questions on a regular basis.

On the days I post, good things happen. And I can say for certain that it's not a coincidence. By putting yourself out there with your blog, people will find you, and your dream job could come knocking at your door. Just make sure you recognize the opportunity when it does.

3. You can show your true personality
I get a lot of applications from people applying for a job at Brazen Careerist. We have a special set of questions that we ask everyone to answer when they apply so we can get a sense of their interests, goals and personality. The answers always give me some good insight, but I often want to know more, before we decide to do an interview.

Because of this, I love when someone leaves a link to their blog along with their resume. It's like saying, "Here's a sneak peek into my world. I have nothing to hide." Other than face-to-face interaction, nothing shows who you really are more than a blog.

Unfortunately, we are in a temporary hiring freeze (click here to read more), but if we were scaling the company at full strength, the people who directed me to their blog would be at the top of the interview list.

4. The connections are amazing
I'm confident enough to say that if I needed a job tomorrow, I could skip the typical Monster.com or Careerbuilder job search and find a great one through the connections I've made blogging.

I've networked with executives, authors, entrepreneurs, CEO's, professional speakers and more. I've maintained as many relationships as possible, some as mentors and others as weak-tie connections, but simply having the opportunity to meet such a diverse and influential crowd could have never happened without writing my blog.

5. You grow up, quick
I never would have admitted it at the time, but before I started Employee Evolution I was pretty immature. I thought I knew more than I did, I didn't work as hard as I could, and I didn't fully appreciate all the things I had. Two years later, I still have a lot of growing up to do, but the amount I've grown as a person has been astounding.

Someone tells me I'm wrong on nearly every post I write. Sometimes I listen and rethink my position, while other times I chalk it up to the other person being wrong. But I'm always able to re-evaluate, compose myself and reply with an insightful response or a nice email. Learning to deal with people who disagree, and treating your blog like a business will teach you a lot about how the world works, giving you a huge leg up on your "non-blogging" peers

It may not be easy, and it certainly won't happen overnight, but starting a blog and following through can take you anywhere you want to go. What are you waiting for?