Professional Blogging, the Interview, and YOU!

A job interview can be one of the most important parts in your career. This short meeting can give an employer the make or break impression on you and your skills. Sometimes you get in situations where you want to show the employer all of the relevant things you have done but you just can’t explain them properly. This is when a professional blog can help. A blog that explains what kind of projects you have been doing or outlines clearly awards you have received can allow employers to see the potential you have as employee.
Putting a blog on your resume can improve your chances of getting an interview. If an employer takes the time to look at the blog you have posted and see a quality blog, you might improve your chances. That is why it is so important to have a quality bog with no fatal errors or formatting mistakes. A blog can also give the hiring manager a better sense of your style of writing or attitude towards career related subjects. If appropriate in your field, a blog can show creativity that a resume may not be able to fully show.
Another way you could present yourself at an interview is to show your interest in the company. If you had written a blog post about the company and the things you like about it, they will know that you are really interested in the position. Plus, if the interviewer has seen your blog and can see that you know something about their company, then they may be more willing to find out what you are looking forward to doing when you working for them.

Collaboration Celebration?

Team projects are becoming easier to manage because of the many resources available. These resources include technology like Google docs, e-mail, video conferencing, and group tweets. Companies are using these to complete team projects faster and with fewer problems. In my class project, we used e-mail constantly to share ideas and to get our completed slides to one another. In other group projects outside of this class, I have used Google docs to share information instantly. My team was able to fix other member's mistakes without causing conflict. I can see that in a large company setting, these technologies would be very important in order to share information.
Outside of the classroom, companies are using these same technologies to finish projects. The people who started Jetblue were from all over the country. They were able to use technology to work together to build the company. This saved them the cost of moving all the team members to the same area or having to fly them in for meetings to discuss their progress.
Using this technology doesn't always mean that a great team is going to be formed. Without social interaction, a team’s progress may be hindered. In my Developing Teams and Interpersonal Skills class, we discussed how understanding team and social norms are vital for a team to work effectively. Human interface allows a team to reach the performing stage of a team.
A Business Week article outlined how some of these new collaboration tools are more than workers need. IT departments are having a hard time keeping up with the technology available. The article said, “The gap between how we use information technology in our personal and professional lives is growing, leading to higher employee dissatisfaction with corporate IT departments that 'can't seem to catch up' with new technologies.” Teams should use technologies that can best help them, but it is important to have personal interaction as well. The balance of the two concepts can make a team successful.

Source
http://www.businessweek.com/managing/content/feb2010/ca20100211_233652.htm

What can Professional Blogs do for Businesses?

Blogs are a simple way for businesses to connect with their customers in a more personal manor. Before blogging and the Internet the only way to communicate was through formal letters and reports. Now companies can go on an individual basis and use employees own voice and style. Messages given in a blog are more accessible to the general public because there is not as much formal jargon. The topics of the messages can be geared towards consumer concerns. This connection with others outside of the company also encourages readers to respond. Most professional blogs offer areas for feedback. If companies use this tool they can better understand their customers in a cheap manor, something that they pay market researches tons of money to do.
Information in blogs can also be updated daily. Instead of a web site where information goes through a long process to be published, blogs can be updated quickly. Information then can be given to the public fast. This speed allows the consumer to know that this company is concerned with the public. A company can show that they want customers to have a key part of the organization.