Blog = Resume?

Came across this post, which led to this post, today. Essentially they're pointing out that someone with a blog might be more "hirable" than someone without simply because the employer would have more information about the potential employee and hence can make a better judgment compared to merely scrutinizing a CV.

I had that dilemma a few months ago as I was drafting my CV in preparation for my interviews. I was deciding whether to put in blog as part of my contacts on the resume (along with my email and mobile number). The immediate question that came to mind was, "Will I be penalized for something I wrote?"

In the end, I decided to put it on my resume (actually I included my personal blog, my music blog as well as MySchoolTube, my recently defunct Web20 project). I felt that I've always tried to be sincere and truthful about the things that I blog, and to a certain extent, I practice some form of self-censorship on controversial content that I might not have a good understanding or in a position to give valuable insights anyway. So to a large extent, my blog is an extension of the kind of person I am, and since it's in the public domain anyway, I'd stick to it for better or worse.

Well, I ended up getting the job that I really want. More importantly, more than half of the 10 companies that I interview for actually talk favorably about my blog! This shows that they actually do value it as an additional means of knowing me as a candidate, and that they actually read it! So, my advice to those bloggers looking for a job: Do include your blog on your resume if you feel that you can stand by what you write on your blog and that it's a fair reflection of the kind of person you are, which incidentally should also go without saying for any self-respecting person with a substantial online presence such as a blog.