Blogging is Even More Important During Unemployment

TJ Wihera at Whys Perspective recently wrote a blog entry questioning whether Gen Y has an over sensitivity about blogging. The idea for the post was born after he witnessed a Twitter exchange in which someone scoffed at unemployed Gen Yers blogging about careers and business, and some Gen Yers then replied with offended responses. And this got me to thinking that the author of the original tweet, @AlexJMann, might not understand how blogging (and a history of it) can actually be even more important when one is unemployed. And then I thought, hey, maybe others don’t either.

So here is my short testimonial of how blogging can help you through unemployment:
· It can help you sort through your thoughts: Being unemployed, even for a short period of time, can wreak havoc on your confidence, your sense of self, and even your understanding of what your passions, strengths, and weaknesses are. Blogging provides a canvas on which you can paint your thoughts, organize them, and gain support and ideas from thousands of differing perspectives.
· It acts as a living resume: As pretty much everyone who has ever had to hunt for a job online knows, a one-page MS Word resume (and it should be ONLY one page) by itself is an incredibly tough way to impress anyone enough to call you back. However, if you have a blog to link to, recruiters can see your ideas and communication skills immediately. Additionally, regularly updated blog shows recruiters that you are actively managing your career, even in downtime. You will shine through as a superstar when compared with traditional job hunters.
· It is something consistent and positive when nothing else is: Unemployment is a scary, uncertain emotional rollercoaster. There are only so many jobs you can apply for in a day before you want to tear your hair out and scream from the lack of good news. Blogging makes you feel better because it is constructive. It exercises your critical thinking and writing skills, helps build your personal and professional networks, and is an outlet for the pent up stress inside you. Blogging during unemployment actually gives you the opportunity to publicly and honestly examine your thoughts on your work history, your industry, and your field without fear of any real backlash.

In short, I believe there is absolutely nothing wrong with blogging during periods of unemployment. I blogged through my short stint of unemployment earlier this year, and it was incredibly helpful. What are your thoughts? Does being unemployed disqualify someone from contributing to the conversation? Does a temporary lack of a job completely discredit a person’s ideas?