[wjg]

Even if you aren't using it to become attractive for recruiters, this will probably happen. I went from rarely (like, extremely) getting callbacks for remote gigs to getting around 30%-40% callbacks. The difference was that I started a blog about writing a web application with modern technologies and included it in my applications. It's a pretty bland blog, but just the fact that I wrote about stuff I'm interested in and has relevancy with the jobs I'm applying for has really paid off.

I definitely feel like an imposter, and I have no readers, but it definitely sharpens my abilities and has really forced me to really understand why I build something a certain way and to evaluate alternatives.

Do it.

[PaulHoule]

Note that employers want people who can write (plans, documentation, ...) so demonstrating that you can write is as important as anything else.

[alexpetralia]

I've done the same thing and had similar results.

Writing forces you to deeply understand concepts and exposes the gaps in your knowledge.

[muzani]

A recruiter once turned me down for not having work rights in the US, then called me after I pointed a link to my blog. It helps.

[cgb223]

Do let us know how much more viewership you get after posting this on HN

Or better yet, write a blog post about it

[wjg]

Ha, this post provided around 620 unique visitors yesterday. I had 1 visitor (who was probably me) the day before, so that's a nice bump from HN :)

It will be interesting to see how traffic dies/tails off in the coming days.

[frustrated_me]

How do recruiters know about your blog that your conversion rate went up to 30-40%?

[wjg]

I simply highlight/mention it in a cover letter when I apply to a job.

To your point though, the 30-40% number is pure gut-feeling, I've certainly done no proper study to arrive at that. But there is definitely a marked increase in response rate.

[amruta2799]

It sounds like the kind of blog I would read! Can you share the link please?

[deepakkarki]

Bit of tracking and I guess this is it : https://joelgardner.github.io/

[wjg]

Yes, this is it. It's very early-stages/preview-mode as I haven't quite nailed down the exact architecture I want for the client but it has helped a lot as far as job searching goes!

[animesh]

In your tags page, I really dig that the posts listed by tag are on the same page and being able to jump to them. Very minimal. Hope you don't mind me stealing the idea.

[wjg]

Steal away, but the credit goes to https://github.com/AWEEKJ/Kiko-plus as I am just using his Jekyll theme.