Get Ahead, Get A Blog

I recently appointed two new interns  Ruby Thompson and Caitlin Fitzmaurice. Congratulations to them, they came through a field of hundreds. I have received many requests for feedback and it is tricky with so many well qualified candidates to suggest how people can improve their chances. However, it occurs to me that one way job applicants can mark themselves out is to have a blog. Caitlin who I have just appointed has a blog. It’s called The Red Rooster Herald. Caitlin also writes for Labour List. A previous intern who worked for me Will Scobie is also a veryoccasional blogger. The beauty for me of this is that I can see what an applicant really believes, what motivates them and what their views are. There’s no question of them tailoring their application, a blog is in a way a living open reference. I’m not going to just appoint bloggers of course, but it does show me several skills I’m looking for in practice and which I suggest many employers would welcome.

I recognise many people’s commitments mean they can’t blog regularly. There’s nothing that says you have to blog consistently, it can work around you. You could think of it like a passport. Most people have one, but you only use it when you need to. A good example of interesting writing, irregularly written is Kathryn Llewellyn (pictured). Her blog could perhaps do with an attention grabbing title, and with her latest post on female genital mutilation perhaps she could consider her conclusion and rename it “A Bloody Feminist!”