I went to an interview recently for an online journalism position. This was actually the third interview, and I was meeting the top brass, so to speak. Then, it happened. I was asked about my blog.

More specifically, I was asked what I was writing lately, since I finished up my full-time commitments elsewhere. I talked a little about the freelance work and my clients, and thought I had handled the question well. My tech-savvy interviewer, however, looked at me and said:

Well, with the explosion of the internet, the definition of what constitutes publishing has changed. There’s nothing stopping you from writing every day. Do you have a blog or anything like that?

Well, colour me surprised. I honestly thought this would never come up in an actual real-world physical interview. I explained that yes, I did, though it had recently come through a period of not being updated. I had, in fact, just finished redesigning the blog from scratch, and would be looking to write a lot more from here on out. That didn’t impress.

I missed out on the position in the end, and I doubt a blog or lack thereof was the deciding factor. I’m just surprised that the interviewer in question brought it up. And I missed an opportunity there to talk about the highly interesting, regularly updated home of my daily writing. Food for thought, folks.

(I was also asked this question about ten times yesterday at a “creatives” discussion forum, but that’s less surprising).

Posted by Dave Molloy in •Business •Journalism •Tech

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