Blogging about Fashion PR has definitely opened up new job opportunities for me, although this was not my primary goal since starting PR Couture. A few months ago, I talked about the importance, and marketability of social media skills for entry-level PR practitioners. Today, Wall Street Journal Online published an article on how having a blog might help you get a job, noting that, “recruiters say they check candidates’ blogs about noncareer-related topics for evidence of writing skills and clues to how well rounded they are.”
While getting praised and headhunted because of your fabulous online presence can end up a pretty sweet deal, let us not forget that blogging can get you fired. However, for certain beauty and fashion editors, a blog-based firing only spurred them on to further career glories.
These days, google and myspace are being used for more than just stalking checking in on old boyfriends. According to Debbie Weil, a corporate blogging consultant and the author of The Corporate Blogging Book, “Everybody has an online identity whether they know it or not, and a blog is the single best way to control it,” she says. “You’re going to be Googled. No one hires anyone or buys anything these days without going online first and doing research.”
For tips on blogging safely, check out this article by the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and keep your finger on the pulse of recent talks regarding a blogger code of conduct. Since so many fashion blogs are penned by women, the code of content provided by BlogHer, (these ladies recognized the need for Blogging Community Guidelines back in January of 2006) is definately worth a read as well.
