Noted blogger, Troutgirl was fired recently from her software engineering job at Friendster. The firing offense? Inflammatory comments made on her blog. The problem is her comments were far from flagrant, nor were they revealing of company secrets. Without delving in to what she said in detail, it had to do with the Friendster user experience and how she and her team aimed to improve it with a move to Hypertext Preprocessor, or PHP.
In July, I was on a job interview in Bend, Oregon. The owner of this small ad firm said he enjoyed reading my blog. He said he was happy to know my political leanings, as well. This made sense to me, since once a person joins a small firm, he or she becomes part of the corporate family, not just another employee. I am also aware that certain persons in my last two jobs read my blog from time to time. This fact has led me to state my opinions about work matters very carefully, if at all.
The question I have now is, does one’s blog ever prevent a firm from hiring? It’s quite possible, for blogs can flatten a corporate hierarchy, and who wants a free-speaking pyramid toppler on staff? But it’s not like you can hide your blog. A quick Google search takes care of that. So, be honest and be yourself, especially in the interview stage. If you try to project another you, a more hirable or more likable you, you will end up getting a job at a firm that does not share your values.