Advice

Blogs: In which I rethink a few things

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In the past, I have stated outright that I do NOT agree with the "everyone should have a blog" approach to blogging.  I've stated everyone should have a personal page(s) and be accessible, and that blogging is good for many, but that the important thing is to have something to show off one's skills and talents – blogging is just one way.

After some thought and discussion, I want to revise my opinion as I didn't quite take it far enough.

First, I still don't think a blog is for everyone – if you don't have anything to say or write, it's not for you (a portfolio may be, a video archive, etc.).  However I do think it's important to have some kind of project going in your life to hone and improve your skills, show them off, and help you network and connect.

The thing that I forgot?  That if you have a project that's not a blog . . . you can still blog about that.

It sounds like a small thing, but I actually think that's important.  Having a blog does get your name out there, does let you connect.  If you blog about a given project you have you get all the benefits of the project – and the benefits of a blog.  A blog still may not be right for you, but I have to say I think I overstated my case earlier.

So keep blogging in mind after all even if it's not something you'd do directly.  It does have a lot of advantages.

– Steven Savage

Fandom: The Project Edge

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You're a geek, a fangirl, fanboy, otaku, otariiman, sports nut, etc.  You're in a job search.  You'd like to leverage your fannish interests for your next job, but you're busy trying to get the whole search thing working right.

Good job searches are like projects – organized, measured, evaluated, with goals in mind.  Being a fan, you're probably far better at this than many people – and maybe more than you realize.

If you feel disorganized or aren't sure how to approach your job search, step back for a moment and look at the fannish projects you've done.

  • Did you organize a convention or part of a convention?
  • Do you oversee and run a role-play group?
  • Do you manage a community with events?
  • Do you sit down and reguarly and consistently make AMVs, fanfic, fanart, etc.?

Then guess what – you know how to do a project.  In fact, I'd lay odds that everyone reading this right now is, on average, better at organizing and getting results than they realize.  It's just that this is so often expressed in our hobbies and fannish activities that we never realize, frankly, how good we are at it.

So, if you're trying to organize your job search (and organized job searches are successful job searches), step back for a moment and look at what you organized in your hobbies.  What lessons did you learn?  What skills do you have?  Who can you call on for help?  What resources did you use?

If you want that geeky job, make your job search a project.  To make that project, take a moment and look at your hobbies and the projects you've done there.  You're probably far more organized than you ever realized – leverage that.

– Steven Savage

Not geeky enough for your job?

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Have you every worried you're not geeky enough for your job?

A weird thing to say when many of us don't want to discuss our extensive addiction to Legend of the Five Rings in a job interview, but it's actually a factor.  Jobs like game programmer, artist, writer, reviewer, etc. are positions where you're expected to have a certain level of geek on display.  Believe it or not, people do worry about it.

Think of your geekiness as a way of displaying certain talents, affiliations, and even knowledges and competencies.  There are expectations people have, and you may find yourself actually being NOT geeky enough – or at least worrying that during that vital interview with the guy who has multiple piercings, your business outfit may have seemed a tad  . . . boring.

I've had to deal with this.  I still do in some cases as I'm a Project Manager in IT – I am PAID to be the dull guy with Gantt charts, spreadsheets, and organizational skill.  I just do it in geeky jobs, and need to communicate my passion about the subject matter before I discuss my love-hate relationship with Team Foundation Server.

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