When I interviewed for my current job at LearnKey I was asked to provide a few writing samples. Most of the writing I did took place when I worked for Microsoft and Petplace.com. Well, I never thought to take along digital copies of work I created at Microsoft, and I’m not sure how legal that would be anyway. I suppose if I created a flyer or press release which become public knowledge I could probably pass it on without any problem. Most of the writing I did at Petplace.com is history since they closed down the offices in Seattle.
So that didn’t leave me with much to provide this prospective employer, but I had to provide something. I was browsing around folders on my computer looking for anything that might prove my skills when I figured I’d just provide them with the URL to my blog. I looked over my blog and noticed immediately that most of the writing I had done was very casual. I wasn’t sure it would be in my best interests if I came across as being too relaxed and somewhat sarcastic at times. So I thought about it for a couple of days and figured I might as well provide my blog as they were going to get to know me anyway if they decided I was worth hiring.
I ended up getting the job so my blog must not have been so bad. I waited a couple of months before I suggested to our technology director that our company should encourage a corporate blog of some sort. I explained to her what a blog is and she seemed interested but not exactly convinced. A put my idea on the back burner and decided to bring it up at a later date. But the next week I was in brainstorming sessions with several groups that were discussing upcoming promotions for the year another director at the company suggested that our company start a blog.
So it appears we may jump into the corporate blog waters in the near future. I’m not exactly sure the best route to go as far as where the blog is hosted, who provides support and who is allowed to contribute. I’d be interested to hear from other if you’ve been involved in getting your company to join the blogosphere.
Nordquist Blog 