Computer programmer Joey deVilla blogged his way to a job.
Mr. deVilla is among 30,000 Canadians who write on-line diaries known as web logs, or blogs, where they regularly share their thoughts over the Net.
For Mr. deVilla and an increasing number of other bloggers, their pages are becoming more than a soap box for personal views on issues ranging from the U.S. election to music: They're also playing a growing role in helping bloggers land jobs.
Employers are increasingly turning to blogs during their recruitment process to learn more about prospective employees -- and for the growing number of bloggers, their efforts have become an on-line portfolio to showcase their talents, says Jim Elve, publisher of BlogsCanada.ca, a guide to blogs.
"If I am an HR director and I receive an application that says a person has a blog, I am going to take a look at it . . . I am going to see that this person is not hiding himself because he is saying 'go ahead and read my diary.' It gives me a pretty good glimpse into the personality of a person and shows how well he can put words onto paper," Mr. Elve says.
That certainly worked for Mr. deVilla, 37, who found his way to Toronto-based Internet company Tucows Inc. in July, 2003, through a chance encounter with company executives at a meeting of bloggers in Toronto, which he had heard about through his own popular blog, The Adventures of Accordion Guy in the 21st Century.
At the meeting, he chatted with the Tucows' executives; he learned that they were looking for a programmer and they learned he was a blogger ready to be recruited.
The company's human resources staff surfed over to Mr. deVilla's blog, liked what they saw and, after the usual round of interviews and background checks, offered him a job as technical community development co-ordinator.
"The fact that he had a blog was absolutely a factor," says Ross Rader, Tucows' director of research and innovation, who hired Mr. deVilla to develop relationships with other computer programmers who could be potential buyers of his company's products.
"His web log really gave us insight into how he was a great communicator, how he has a gift for the gab, his understanding of technology and his writing talent. It enabled me to drill deeper and get a better look at the kind of person he is," Mr. Rader says.
Before landing the job, Mr. deVilla posted his résumé on-line and linked it to his blog -- a strategy that attracted calls from companies and headhunters as far afield as New England, Chicago and California, he says.
"It is the interview that makes or breaks you but my involvement with a blog played a major role in getting the job" at Tucows, says Mr. deVilla.
"It functioned as . . . a way for the company to do a background check on me and figure out what kind of person I am. It is a very helpful tool that widens the circle of people you can reach."
Since joining Tucows, Mr. deVilla's job has included writing and editing the company blog, known as The Farm, which is a resource of technology news, links and tutorials for software developers.
He also still regularly updates his own blog, which attracts 250,000 page views a month. "It is part of my job to use my pull as Accordion Guy" to interest others in Tucows' products.
Yesterday, the Globe sent photogrpaher Fred Lum to take pictures of Ross and me striking various "GQ" poses with computers at my desk. I've only seen the online edition of the paper, which doesn't include the photos.For those keeping count -- and hey, maybe it's only me -- this is my fifth appearance in the Globe in a year. The other four are (the other three being a version of my Longing and Shorting entry, my contribution to the book Never Threaten to Eat Your Coworkers: The Best of Blogs, a piece on the Secret Swing and an article on my engagement to Wendy.
My thanks to Randy Ray, who wrote the article, Fred for taking the pictures and Michael O'Connor Clarke, who referred Randy to me.
Office phone:
Google Talk:
By the way, a Lurper -- as defined in this Leah McLaren column -- is:
I don't think I quite qualify: for lurpers, fame is an end. For me, a little notoriety is merely a means. That, and I have some actual marketable skills.
Guess I'll have to find my PCP, Oxycontin, and heroin speedballs elsewhere.
Congrats on your engagement, btw. As someone who imported an American "then girlfriend, now wife" from NYC when I moved back to Toronto from Manhattan a couple of years ago, lemme tell ya that the earlier you start the immigration process, the better. And marriage doesn't help the process half as much as you'd think.
omigod...this is *so* against company policy.
crapity, crap crap. We let a blogger sneak into our midst... Next thing you know, we'll all be blogging...