Why I “Complain” Publicly, Via Blogging

And how that can be as useful and as detrimental as anything else.

A redditor a few days ago pointed something to me. A really important piece of information that I could have easily dismissed because it just doesn’t phase me but should:

> Fine, just understand that you’re writing them [opinionated articles] on the Internet. And your name is attached to it. Quite honestly, your post isn’t going to do anything except hurt your future job prospects.

Whoa, whoa. Wait what? They’re right. They’re exactly right. I write:

• publicly, on several blogs and forums
• on the internet FOR the internet
• quite honestly ;) (okay, taken out of context)
• to affect my future job prospects.

I’d like to focus on all of these but mostly, I’d like to address the last one. Am I hurting my future job prospects?

Yes, definitely. My counter question is, “Am I also helping them?” Yes, definitely.

Anyways, so why do I even write?

To Help Others

May seem a backward at first but when I look over my articles and look over the discussions I’ve had over time, I can definitely see what kind of impact I can have. I’ve raved about recruiters a lot recently, and granted that I will have a tough time working with one in the future, I’ve also helped others recognize and realize that there’s a problem.

Every single discussion I’ve had on the topic has resulted in a “I know what you mean, I’ve been there” from just about everyone. Not a single person I’ve met has told me they had a positive experience. I’ve had some, sure, and I mention that at the end of every article but my prevailing experience has been either negative or “neutral” in that I didn’t get anything out of the relationship.

Well, this kind of writing helps new people out in the field. When someone asks me, “Got any tips?” I point them to my articles. When someone posts on /r/webdev, “I’m looking for my first dev job”, I tell them my experience. If someone says, “what should I charge?”, I tell them my experience.

In the end, a lot of my articles are there to state my uncensored, biased opinion out there for others to see and consider. Take something away from it. Be wary or cautious while risky in other places.

To Help Myself

Putting your thoughts into words can be very helpful when it comes to analyzing past situations and situations you may or may not be happy with. Ever tried journaling? It’s super awesome.

So why publicly? With public blogging, you get responses, just like the one I got and quoted above. Public blogging allows you a certain amount of feedback on your thoughts and for a discussion to take place. Disucssion and feedback help you learn and grow.

Some of the responses to my article were quite interesting including:

• Several commenters questioning my want and ability to be a Senior in my position. While before when I posted on the topic, I received an overwhelming “No one cares about your age”, this time, I received many responses addressing just that.
• One commenter discussed the various reasons why a company would not offer a specific income. It was interesting to discuss the topic since I (mainly) believed the simple equation of cost vs. profit where profit is equal to my ability to contribute to the company and provide profit which in turn depends on my skills and abilities. The commenters, rightfully, pointed out many other reasons. Including the fact that companies may not want a “boy wonder code superhero” but rather a seasoned pro.

Of course, every article generates a different kind of discussion but putting your discussion out to strangers and out in the public and allowing them to connect the writing with a face creates a unique environment. Which brings me to my next point.

To Learn How To Use Criticism

You would be (or may be not) surprised at how much criticism, how many remarks, how many attacks you have to deal with when you expose yourself in this manner. You’re not just dealing with professional peers with constructive feedback, nope, you’re dealing with the anonymity of internet. So get ready for flame wars, attacks of personal nature, nonsensical answers, and off-topic discussion.

Just about any blogger that makes it to PR3 and above on their blog will experience this and more.

It’s interesting and it helps you build a tough skin. But not only that, it helps you look for value in someone’s words. There’s a certain user on reddit whom I’ve tagged for myself as “a**hole” for the comments I receive from him. However, I’ve tagged him not to ignore his words, but to take a deep breath and get ready for some heavy feedback.

More often than not, he coats his opinion in violent and disrespectful words. I’ve learned to look past that and look into the wisdom of what he says. And it helps. Every time I post an article that he comments on, he has an insight. He gets downvoted to oblivion oftentimes (due to his language use) but he gets an upvote from me because I find value in what he says.

There are yet other commenters that you need to dig into. They start with “If you’re asking this, you’re an idiot”. Then you prompt them with a “why” and you get a lengthy rant relevant to your topic.

So what do I do with all of that?

Learn. I’ve learned to:

• Not post articles that are too weak, just for the sake of being “on schedule”
• Not listen to the masses when it comes to opinions on tech. While one half will cry out that Microsoft makes crappy software and closed source nature, the other will praise C# and Microsoft’s dev environment. All of them make great points. Relevant Thread.
• Find value in someone’s words and apply it to my own life.

To Create An Online Persona

Probably one of the more important aspects of writing honestly online is the fact that you’re branding yourself. I’m creating myself online. There are important details in how and what I write and how it relates to who I am:

• I don’t EVER mention any company or recruiter by name. Not even a hint as to who they are other than general factoids that could match up to hundreds of others
• I try to always tell the good and the bad, when I’m complaining or when I’m praising.
• I have an opinion but I listen closely to others as well.

However, this is the place where I “hurt” and “help” my job prospects. If you look at my writing, there are two conclusions you can come to:

• This guy thinks things through and is willing to discuss his opinion but also change his opinion based on what someone points out or a fact he was not aware of
• This guy rants and complains about everything

The latter will probably kill me in the future, or at least my job prospects. Anyone who does a background check will be able to quickly tell that I write often, and I write about almost everything.

The former has, so far, actually helped me out. Many of the interviewers I’ve met have read my articles, hell, they’ve even read my articles about my bad experiences. Some of them even agreed with me.

Is this worth it?

I’m foolish enough, right now, to say “Yep! :)” because my career is not the only thing I’m concerned.

However, in case I ever arrive at a “No”, I’m building a blog where I can write under anonymity so that I can share even more honesty without any fluff. :)