Today I wanted to quickly share with you some thoughts on the value of blogging. I have been fortunate in my job to have the time and the support to dedicate to the management of our company blog as well as our local HR organization, IndySHRM’s, blog. Before that time, I had some personal blogging experience, but never for a public audience seeking helpful information about a specific area of interest such as Indianapolis jobs, Indianapolis staffing or information about the Human Resource profession. Now I find myself regularly scanning all of the industry websites and resources I can to gather good information to share with our respective audiences. My new interest in hiring trends, staffing news, Indianapolis job openings, HR rules and regulations and all matter of recruiter tips and tools has allowed me to expand my personal knowledge while simultaneously sharing helpful information with others. It sort of gives me an excuse to be a geek about a topic or many topics.
I have also found that my writing and communication skills have improved over the time I have been blogging. While writing a blog post does not have to be an exercise in literary perfection, you do have to consider your audience and make sure that you are at least delivering a product that is easy to read and that provides something useful to take away from it. I pay more attention to my grammar and spelling, my word choice and my sentence structure. Beyond that, I still find that I can go on a little long on certain topics so I am also working on brevity.
Your blogging hobby is also a great resume builder. You are creating original content in the form of mini "white papers" to share with others. Blogging is an exercise in creativity and original thought, even when you are re purposing the work of another writer, as you still add your own perspective to the topic at hand. Blogging demonstrates that you have specialized knowledge in a particular area that you have taken the time to consider and share with a public audience. You will find that it boosts your confidence and provides you with additional conversation inventory.
I am not an extrovert and I generally do not enjoy social engagements that require small talk. I find that blogging is a great outlet for someone like me because while I enjoy sharing my thoughts and ideas, I am more comfortable in a one on one setting – just me and my laptop….sitting in my car. I am interested in hearing about other personal experiences with blogging and how it has provided value to you – I know that at least a few of our That’s Good HR reluctant bloggers (I won’t mention any names) have found it to be one of the most valuable exercises they have gone through. How about you?