Students (and others): Read this!

Amy Gahran over at Poynter details why a blog is Media Career Insurance. I could probably rewrite the argument and suggestions for GIS careers, but it’d be redundant (besides, she’s a better writer than I…)

These days your online presence, professional and otherwise, is part of your resume. When I started out in GIS I recall reading that the best way to “become known” as an expert was to write articles in your field. I didn’t set out to do that, exactly, but the early writing I did in print certainly got me known and ultimately here at Directions. Now, however, everyone, CEOs, tech folks and everyone in between may be called upon to host or contribute to a blog or blogs related to their positions. Why not make it easier for potential hires to evaluate your writing skills/thinking/creativity/personality/how you react to criticism/etc. on your blog? Be yourself, but be professional. Consider the geoblogs/bloggers you read: Would you hire any of those folks? Inquire about the products the company behind them offers? If you read them even somewhat regularly, you get a sense of them, or an opinion at the very least.

I have my Penn State MGIS students post videos and reports to personal blogs and then have their peers offer questions and comments. I want them to get a feel for writing and reading blogs in a “professional” setting. I have no doubt they’ll be reading and likely writing them at some point.