Putting your blog details on a job application, C or D?

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We've recently advertised a few jobs, and I've been helping shortlist. One cv had the applicant's blog details on there, and it threw up loads of questions. It's like photocopying extracts of your diary and attaching them to your cv. It's not a media/writing job, or any kind of job that his blog would make a difference, and I can't decide whether it's a good move or a bad, whether I should be impressed, taken aback, or just be thankful that someone's given me a perfectly legitimate reason to while away the afternoon on the internet!

― Vicky (Vicky), Thursday, 18 March 2004 16:54 (twenty-one years ago)

I've decided that we should definitely get him in for interview, anyway, just to see what he's like

― Vicky (Vicky), Thursday, 18 March 2004 16:55 (twenty-one years ago)

that's a complete dud.

What an unprofessional moran.

― Ask For Samantha (thatgirl), Thursday, 18 March 2004 17:01 (twenty-one years ago)

giving people false hope by calling them in for job interviews when all you really wanna do is gawk at them, c/d?

― The Huckle-Buck (Horace Mann), Thursday, 18 March 2004 17:01 (twenty-one years ago)

I suppose it's another way of saying "I can do HTML and look after a website".

Also "I have opinions and want to share them with the world..."

― mark grout (mark grout), Thursday, 18 March 2004 17:02 (twenty-one years ago)

I'm afraid my boss used to pass crappy application letters around the office for general amusement value.

Putting your blog address on is definitely dud if it's a personal diary sort of one. If it's not then I could see situations in which it might be a good idea.

― N. (nickdastoor), Thursday, 18 March 2004 17:04 (twenty-one years ago)

As classic as the tale I related elsewhere whereby someone put their starsign characteristics in their personal details (i.e. not very)

― ailsa (ailsa), Thursday, 18 March 2004 17:04 (twenty-one years ago)

If you use your real name in a blog you're googlable anyway. I'm surprised that some people use their full name or regular email address in this forum - you never know when you might lose your job and your prospective employers will be checking out all your peurile jokes and silly sexual innuendo.

So what's the URL anyway?

― Vatic muse, Thursday, 18 March 2004 17:06 (twenty-one years ago)

having a blog does not equal having web design/master skills.

everybody and their mother has a blog these days. Without professional work to show any claims to web skills are highly dubious and usually just make the applicant look stupid.

― Ask For Samantha (thatgirl), Thursday, 18 March 2004 17:06 (twenty-one years ago)

I put Freaky Trigger on my latest CV and got the job (it had some vague relevance though). There was a moment of horror though when I realised that the last thing I'd written on it started "What do 76 blowjobs look like?".

― Tico Tico (Tico Tico), Thursday, 18 March 2004 17:07 (twenty-one years ago)

Iirc, someone on these boards very recently mentioned his blogs in his latest cv and interview where he got the job.

I don't think it's unproffesional at all, what if it's a creative project they're very proud of?

And getting people in for interviews to see what they're like != gawking, it's finding out wghat they're like, jeez there are some chuffing muppets around today

x-post, but what the hell

― chris (chris), Thursday, 18 March 2004 17:07 (twenty-one years ago)

(To be fair it was in 'hobbies and interests' not 'work experience')

― Tico Tico (Tico Tico), Thursday, 18 March 2004 17:09 (twenty-one years ago)

The thing is, if he hadn't put the blog details on he'd have probably got an interview as he's got interesting experience, and the blog has some good writing, including a couple of entertaining paragraphs about being an archivist.

But he put his blog on his cv.......

― Vicky (Vicky), Thursday, 18 March 2004 17:09 (twenty-one years ago)

It's only good and proper that you link to it so we can judge for ourselves...

― Matt DC (Matt DC), Thursday, 18 March 2004 17:10 (twenty-one years ago)

... until he checks his referrals and found out that someone was talking on the Internet about him being rejected from a job before he knows himself, of course.

― Matt DC (Matt DC), Thursday, 18 March 2004 17:11 (twenty-one years ago)

i think FT is a more than a personal blog.

if the site is more than your personal ramblings and has relevance to the job yr applying for (like writing about music or whatever), sure.

otherwise, it has no place.

― Ask For Samantha (thatgirl), Thursday, 18 March 2004 17:11 (twenty-one years ago)

X-post- Too dangerous, he'll realise, take offense, and then I'd get into trouble....

― Vicky (Vicky), Thursday, 18 March 2004 17:12 (twenty-one years ago)

If vicky put the URL, but without the http://, it wouldn't show up on referral logs. Though it might eventually on google. Replace the .s with dots then or something, then.

Sudden thought: he is already on ILE.

― N. (nickdastoor), Thursday, 18 March 2004 17:14 (twenty-one years ago)

But he put his blog on his cv.......

I suppose that's just life as it happens, eh? (cough)

― Vicky (Vicky), Thursday, 18 March 2004 17:20 (twenty-one years ago)

now I'm paranoid and wish I'd never started this thread

― Vicky (Vicky), Thursday, 18 March 2004 17:21 (twenty-one years ago)

Oh shush. Unless it's one of us, which it isn't, then you're fine, and it's not like you said anything bad about him.

(though I guess he could have a moment of doubt and search th'internet for suggestions on whether it's a good idea to attach your blog to a CV)

― Markelby (Mark C), Thursday, 18 March 2004 17:24 (twenty-one years ago)

Oh for heaven's sake give us the URL in some non-linky, non-googlable way, with a DELETETHISBIT in the middle or something!

― Vatic muse, Thursday, 18 March 2004 17:25 (twenty-one years ago)

have some fun and use your noggin, might find some other interesting sites that way, and it'll while away some time.

― Vicky (Vicky), Thursday, 18 March 2004 17:26 (twenty-one years ago)

Hey, if we're talking REALLY unprofessional, there was this time late last year when one girl sent in a CV on shocking pink paper, paperclipped to which was a 10-page comic book scan with her face Photoshopped onto each panel and new words penned in, telling the story of her life as a superhero.

Some people will do anything to get attention. I then kept the CV and the comic book and showed it around to all my friends. Then someone drunkenly decided to give her a call at 2am, pretending to be held hostage by terrorists and in need of rescuing, and suddenly it didn't seem like such a great idea.

― Matt DC (Matt DC), Thursday, 18 March 2004 17:27 (twenty-one years ago)

In that sort of context, cutting and pasting the good bits of their blog onto ILE seems tame by comparison.

― Matt DC (Matt DC), Thursday, 18 March 2004 17:28 (twenty-one years ago)

I want to meet this girl.

― N. (nickdastoor), Thursday, 18 March 2004 17:31 (twenty-one years ago)

Was it 'Belle du Jour'?

Vicky, can I have the job, please?

I used to have stuff on my CV about fanzines and promoting Frank Sidebottom gigs and stuff and all anybody ever said was 'but did you make any money?' to which the answer was 'yes, but we gave it all to the support band'. I got Little Frank to answer that bit. I always got the feeling that they were looking at me a bit funny.

PS: I have been considering starting a blog purely as a way of hopefully getting a job.

― PJ Miller (PJ Miller), Thursday, 18 March 2004 17:33 (twenty-one years ago)

Surely every employer googles the name of each applicant these days. Thank god I work for my non-tech-savvy parents.

― Markelby (Mark C), Thursday, 18 March 2004 17:35 (twenty-one years ago)

I have been considering putting the rest of my 1990-94 diary online as a way of getting a job.

― N. (nickdastoor), Thursday, 18 March 2004 17:36 (twenty-one years ago)

Mark - I don't think many employers do that at all. It took over a year for my colleagues to even do it.

― N. (nickdastoor), Thursday, 18 March 2004 17:37 (twenty-one years ago)

xpost matt what was the job for tho? if the job was actually for a superhero..... Dear Sir/Madam, I'm applying for the job as International Rescue Assistant, I hereby attach an illustrated history of my experiences as a superhero with expertise in anti-terrorist missions. regards, rowonda womani. it may have been appropriate (i'm guessing that it wasn't)

― ken c (ken c), Thursday, 18 March 2004 17:37 (twenty-one years ago)

I too am unemployed. I will reveal the URL of my stunning blog to anyone who offers me a job interview. In my blog, I pretend to be an urbane, well-read porn star. Please give me a book deal.

― unemployed, Thursday, 18 March 2004 17:38 (twenty-one years ago)

You'll be able to find out what they thought of the interview, and it'll be hilarious following their angst when they don't get the job.

― jel -- (jel), Thursday, 18 March 2004 17:38 (twenty-one years ago)

Second result if you google my real name:

Favourite Conversation Opener: "So, how long does it take you to have a wank from cold?? I thought I could do it in 30 seconds, but it turned out to be 60."

― Markelby (Mark C), Thursday, 18 March 2004 17:39 (twenty-one years ago)

Vicky - just interview him. People do stupid things. ..unless you have plenty of other qualified people, in which case fuckim.

Either way, someone should tell him to get that shit off his cv.

― dave225 (Dave225), Thursday, 18 March 2004 17:39 (twenty-one years ago)

do employers really google people's names?

it sounds like a lot of effort, and wouldn't be a very fair assessment, especially since lots of people have no internet presence and/or have very ungoogleable names. e.g. mark smith, or something.

― ken c (ken c), Thursday, 18 March 2004 17:41 (twenty-one years ago)

60 seconds is still pretty impressive, Markelby.

― Vatic muse, Thursday, 18 March 2004 17:43 (twenty-one years ago)

only one entry on google for my name is me! yay!

― jel -- (jel), Thursday, 18 March 2004 17:44 (twenty-one years ago)

that was pre-emptive, there are two, oh well.

― jel -- (jel), Thursday, 18 March 2004 17:44 (twenty-one years ago)

Mark's claim was 60 seconds 'from a standing start'. It's the 'standing start' that takes so long for some of us.

Ken, no they don't.

Despite appearances, I'm not unemployed.

I think the sad truth is that (some) people think blogs are sad because you don't get paid.

I don't think I'll bother now :-(

― PJ Miller (PJ Miller), Thursday, 18 March 2004 17:48 (twenty-one years ago)

"I think the sad truth is that (some) people think blogs are sad because you don't get paid"

No, it's the assumption that a prospective employer would want to know that you spend a lot of time messing about on the internet, it'd be like linking to ILX and saying I post there as jel!

― jel -- (jel), Thursday, 18 March 2004 17:52 (twenty-one years ago)

Yes, I was wrong.

― PJ Miller (PJ Miller), Thursday, 18 March 2004 17:56 (twenty-one years ago)

Sorry Peter, I meant from flaccid. But that was in younger days.

― Markelby (Mark C), Thursday, 18 March 2004 18:36 (twenty-one years ago)

I use my blog as on online clipfile (it's just stuff that's been printed, no personal musings), so I've put it on my CV. Is that a bad move, still?

― Chuck Tatum (Chuck Tatum), Thursday, 18 March 2004 19:40 (twenty-one years ago)

Only if it is interspersed with entries about how long it takes you to have a wank from cold.

― N. (nickdastoor), Thursday, 18 March 2004 19:42 (twenty-one years ago)

This thread is the best support for why I go by "Samantha" on line.

post the URL on the laugh out loud thread. I need new blogs to read.

I currently have a dilemma about where to put up my portfolio. The main feature of my site is my blog. I don't really want to register a new domain just for my portofolio but am afraid just housing it at, www.askforjanice.com/portfolio, will lead potential employers to reading my fantasy liasons with pro-skaters. hmm.

― Ask For Samantha (thatgirl), Thursday, 18 March 2004 19:53 (twenty-one years ago)

*I need new blogs to read*

http://jobcentre.blogspot.com/

― PJ Miller (PJ Miller), Thursday, 18 March 2004 19:59 (twenty-one years ago)

Haha Sam, when I met C@rl1n and D@v1d at Ships, I'm all "I think I know someone who works here, Samantha?" and they both looked at each other and laughed and said "*****!"

― gygax! (gygax!), Thursday, 18 March 2004 20:13 (twenty-one years ago)

;)

― Ask For Samantha (thatgirl), Thursday, 18 March 2004 20:14 (twenty-one years ago)

Five stars? Sam is highly rated!

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Thursday, 18 March 2004 20:41 (twenty-one years ago)

haha sam, i was cornfused for a moment. they're like "should we call her up?" and i'm all "haha, nah... she's probably sleeping!" (it was a school night).

― gygax! (gygax!), Thursday, 18 March 2004 20:44 (twenty-one years ago)

Cornfused, yuk.

― N. (nickdastoor), Thursday, 18 March 2004 20:50 (twenty-one years ago)

cornfused

This sounds wrong.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Thursday, 18 March 2004 20:51 (twenty-one years ago)

But strangely right.

― N. (nickdastoor), Thursday, 18 March 2004 20:52 (twenty-one years ago)

I'm putting links to my ILE posts on my cv forthwith...

― Matt DC (Matt DC), Friday, 19 March 2004 09:15 (twenty-one years ago)

Hah. The last job interview i had, started with one of the interviewers gushing about the site i'd mentioned in my CV 'other interests' section, blathering blog warts and all. And, um, i start this Monday.

But then maybe that's just library-nerds, we did spend more than half the interview chatting about XML and online database design instead of stuffy HR-department set questions...

― petra jane (petra jane), Friday, 19 March 2004 09:35 (twenty-one years ago)

I've posted this before somewhere I think, but I once interviewed a girl for a retail job and she said she liked reading in her spare time. I asked who her favourite author was. She said Martin Amis, pronouncing his surname Amee.

Another girl I interviewed fainted.

― Mikey G (Mikey G), Friday, 19 March 2004 12:13 (twenty-one years ago)

well you did get your tackle out

― chris (chris), Friday, 19 March 2004 12:18 (twenty-one years ago)

Yeah, but Amee? Tackle in or tackle out, it's a dumb answer.

― Mikey G (Mikey G), Friday, 19 March 2004 12:21 (twenty-one years ago)

was she French and thought that you were friends?

― chris (chris), Friday, 19 March 2004 12:22 (twenty-one years ago)

No, she was stupid.

― Mikey G (Mikey G), Friday, 19 March 2004 12:24 (twenty-one years ago)

this wasn't that posh girl was it?

― chris (chris), Friday, 19 March 2004 12:25 (twenty-one years ago)

eh?

― Mikey G (Mikey G), Friday, 19 March 2004 12:26 (twenty-one years ago)

the one you were "involved" with for a while

― chris (chris), Friday, 19 March 2004 12:27 (twenty-one years ago)

No, the Amee girl was for a permanent job. I only slept with weekend staff.

― Mikey G (Mikey G), Friday, 19 March 2004 12:30 (twenty-one years ago)

I always draw a picture of myself in biro on the back of any CV.

Once I did it in ASCII, but I didn't get that job.

― Pete (Pete), Friday, 19 March 2004 12:40 (twenty-one years ago)

This thread made me Google myself, but my first name is way more common than you'd expect and my full name only shows once on an old site. So, ur all corny paranoia increasing fuxx.

― Barima (Barima), Tuesday, 23 March 2004 20:25 (twenty-one years ago)

two months pass...

Bosko Balaban Stats For Season

Name Bosko Balaban
Team Aston Villa
Total Appearances 0
Starts 0
Substituted 0
Total Minutes Played 0
Avg Minutes Played Per Start 0
Goals 0
Avg Goal Mins When Starting 0.0
Avg Mins Played/Goal Scored 0
Goals Scored As Sub 0
Number of Bookings 0
Total Booking Minutes 0
Avg Bookings Per Start 0
Number of Red Cards 0
Total Red Card Minutes 0
Avg Red Cards Per Start 0
Avg Booking Minutes When Starting 0.0

― bosko, Monday, 14 June 2004 16:09 (twenty-one years ago)

two years pass...

Taking sides - putting your blog on your CV vs putting THE ADDRESS OF YOUR MYSPACE PROFILE on your CV.

Who in their right mind would consider such a thing to be a good idea?

― Matt DC (Matt DC), Monday, 26 June 2006 12:38 (nineteen years ago)

sandi thom

― Roughage Crew (Enrique), Monday, 26 June 2006 12:43 (nineteen years ago)

I have "I am a regular contributer to the online encyclopedia Wikipedia" in my personal statement. Ha ha, I'm so rubbish!

― chap who would dare to be a nerd, not a geek (chap), Monday, 26 June 2006 12:47 (nineteen years ago)

but what is Bosko Babalan's "standing start" statistic?

― mark grout (mark grout), Monday, 26 June 2006 12:54 (nineteen years ago)

contributer

I hope you wrote "contributor", at least...

― Alba (Alba), Monday, 26 June 2006 12:59 (nineteen years ago)

We need to brighten up a dull afternoon with further discussion of "standing start" statistics.

― PJ Miller (PJ Miller 68), Monday, 26 June 2006 13:05 (nineteen years ago)

Don't worry, I take more care over the spelling in my CV than I do in my ILX posts. Call me crazy...

― chap who would dare to be a nerd, not a geek (chap), Monday, 26 June 2006 13:09 (nineteen years ago)

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