How blogging about work can increase your professional influence

Two weeks ago, I blogged about a workshop I had attended in Vietnam. The meeting convened several researchers in order to choose a relevant research protocol for livestock value chain research: definitely not newsworthy content for the mass media. However, this week end I received an email from a human resources specialist who had read my blog about value chain research in Vietnam. She wanted me to consider a job offer to work for two years on developing a new sustainable agriculture initiative in the Amazon basin for a large American foundation based in California. I had been headhunted.

I was particularly pleased to read the following sentence in her email: ‘This is a wonderful opportunity for a thought leader who is available to take a two-year sabbatical.’ I am sure this was a standard flattering phrase for all the people she had approached. Nonetheless, it was the second time I had been identified as the right person for a particular job by somebody I did not know who had found out about my expertise through an Internet search. Unfortunately, I did not possess any of the specific requirements to apply successfully for that job.

The lesson I have learned from this experience: as a young professional working on agricultural research for development, blogging about my work is likely to have an impact on my career development. It will also increase my influence on my professional peers, and hopefully, on the real-life business and policy decision makers who will be using my expertise

NB: A caption from  jo Cadilhon, Agricultural Economist, ILRI