The smart ones are proactive, already looking for the best and brightest undiscovered minds who write for small audiences on the web. - Christopher Harper

It clearly depends on the job, but having an online presence gets you ahead. There's lots of ways to go about it, too. - Ben Parr

As someone who has been known to hire people from time to time, I'm far more interested in what a person has accomplished than what they have blogged about. - Jason Wehmhoener

ah, but it needs to be a correct online presence. One with drunk photos and friends that will embarrass you will not get you ahead. Just the opposite. - Wizetux

I definitely see the wisdom here. My biggest question is what to do if you have a painfully common name such as myself. How to build a strong blog around my name or brand myself while so many share my name. Advice? - Brad Smith

Not only hiring managers but potential clients too - Sally Church

If you don't have a blog "that you're using to showcase your knowledge, skills and abilities and demonstrate thought leadership," you don't have a resume...in most fields. But, not all. - Jonathan Fields

Jason: their accomplishments should be clear on their blog. - Robert Scoble

and if your blog name has no mention of your real name? what then? - Mister Groonk from twhirl

I'm in one of those jobs that never go away, but I blog in futile hope that I can find a way to make enough money on my own online to quit my very stable but depressing job. - MarkCarras

Here's where I see the conversation going. My blog as an example (benparr.com) has a detailed about and projects section listing things I've done and ways to contact me. It outlines a lot about me. Plus I'd like to think my blogging speaks for itself. To complement a resume, it needs that type of info. - Ben Parr

I don't want to wade through months of daily blog posts to find out what major projects a person has worked on and how they contributed to it. Sorry Robert, blog != portfolio != resume. Three different things for three different purposes. - Jason Wehmhoener

aw, dang *starts deleting comments and posts all over the net* - MiniMage

I think also the majority of hiring managers you know are in the tech industry, very few fellow college students that I know have a blog (especially once you get outside the technology degrees), FB and MySpace both probably, at least one for sure. - Justin Yost

Justin: I have met quite a few outside, too and they all use Google to check on candidates. - Robert Scoble

curriculum blogae - George Tziralis

Justin, even small liberal arts colleges are known for checking applicants on Google, and for being paranoid about the possession of a blog, whether or not the blogger has behaved. http://chronicle.com/jobs... - MiniMage

sure a blog isn't something you need... but it can't hurt. Look at how websites are helping shape business... if a blog is done right, it can bring all sorts of people knocking on your door. - Wendy Peters from twhirl

Sure, if you are looking for a job as a writer or blogger. Otherwise, not necessarily true at all. Highly dependent on the industry and position. - Tinfoil 2.0

It's not just a blog. i always check the domain that their email comes from. If they have their own domain, and a web site that looks like "Hello, World!", I immediately question all the web related stuff on their resume. - Jeremy Brooks

Actually, I think a professional blog can help non-paranoid employers evaluate your worthiness as an employee, no matter what field of work you desire. I think it helps to demonstrate your level of expertise and your dedication. That means I'm in real trouble! - MiniMage

OK. Blog=resume. I can get down with that. Blogs have replaced resumes. - Francine Hardaway

Jury may be out on the blog... but it's definitely true that you're going to get Googled. So be aware of your digital slimetrail. You have a web presence and it's, at minimum, a supplement to your résumé - Michael Markman from twhirl

No, blogs did not replace resumes - but if you claim to be in a web related field I would expect you to have some traces online, perhaps just bookmarks, comments, forum posts or social networking. I don't expect you to have a blog about your professional activities, and I also find it perfectly acceptable that you write about knitting or rock climbing or any other interest. But if you claim to be in tech and there are no traces of questions on mailing lists or forums, I will wonder. - Iphigenie

Everyone leave traces online, not surprisingly, FriendFeed, Facebook and Linkedin are the first for most people around here. - Amit Morson

How many 'hiring managers' do you know outside of IT companies? I'm being serious, too coz I'm looking to get hired outside IT. - Will Higgins™

I'm not takin' the cat down .... period. :) - Charlie Anzman

yes, yes and yes. - Adam Singer

Wondering if an appearance on Scoble's list might give you the advantage among those hiring managers. - Nir Ben Yona

hear hear Robert - Thomas Power

I would add that it might be smart to have an extra google profile, so you can keep a copy of all the positive blog posts referring to you and your work, that other people write. Share them in Google Reader so they are all in one place. - April Russo

Robert, that's silly (and myopic). The world doesn't revolve around blogging and social media (yet). It's a nice-to-have, but there are plenty of people (even in the tech industry) who don't blog and are none-the-worse for it. In fact, I know a lot of great programmers who don't blog. - dpurrington

Definitely myopic. There are industries, like medicine, where blogging is specifically frowned upon and discouraged. Simply having a blog would likely work against you not for you, regardless of what topic you covered. - FFing Enigma

This is actually pretty funny because, it's clear this is coming from inside a bubble. I used to work at a staffing agency and have friends who still do it or at least work in HR or as recruiters. Even the tech people, don't want to hear about your blog. They prefer you lie and say you don't have one. Why? More work for them & they see it more as a weapon to be used against you later in case your boss decides to hate you. - Anika

Hmm. I need to grammar check my resume more then. - Alex Wilhelm