One of the unforeseen perks of posting a job for your blog, is the unexpected content that is generated.
Guest Posts
With so many people applying there is a good chance that applicants will be willing to write a sample post. I’ve been on the other end of these before, and that’s why I always offer to pay a few bucks for a sample post (whether it gets published or not). Time is money, and even though blogging can be a business, I always like to put the writer’s craft first and respect the industry. But there are plenty of people who generate content via unpaid sample posts. Proceed as you see fit.
Extra Form Fields
In this instance I added an optional field at the end of the application form asking applicants to share the worst job they have ever had. I did it as a funny afterthought because I thought it would be an entertaining way for people to express themselves outside of the typical “I really need this job…” But now looking at all of the funny and witty comments left by people, I plan to incorporate the answers into a future Jobacle post.
Social Networks
When I targeted a blogger that I might be interested in hiring, I let them know that they could earn “brownie points” by getting involved on the blog (leaving comments, Tweeting about us, etc.). Looking back, I absolutely should have made this part of the original job post. There is no better time to get people to jump through hoops than when they are looking for work. I am by no means suggesting that you take advantage of your applicants, but there’s no harm in asking someone to take an additional measure to be considered (for example, Tweet a specific hashtag). If an applicant is willing to go through this measure, they can show you just how interested they are. Or, on the flipside, they may refuse to participate – and that in itself can be an indication of how the person values their time.
P.S. – I would have never thought that a simple job ad would result in this multi-part series. There’s yet another example of how a job ad can help generate content for your blog.
