Want to write a great HR blog? Leave the Industry

I was cruising Fistful of Talent - a favorite read of mine in terms of talent related blogs and came across a great article by Laurie Ruettimann who calls out many of the HR bloggers out there as being sketchy and irresponsible.

I couldn't agree more.

In her article, she is so spot on in terms of what readers really want from HR/Talent (or come to think of it, any kind of) Bloggers.

Distilled, what she suggests is the importance of the following:

Authenticity
Ubiquity
Expertise
Entertainment

Of the HR people I know whose blogs are worth reading, many are are no longer in HR and I wonder if this fact is significant...

They already bailed out of the bullshit bucket.

Bill Boorman's Un-blog, Norton Folgate, & Suzanne Lucas's EvilHR Lady blog are both fine stuff with an edge and are not beholden to The Profession.

Working in HR is like that old joke about the devil. You die, wake up in a locked room. The devil comes in and you’re shocked to learn you’re in hell. The good news is, the devil asks you what you’d like your eternal punishment to be. So you visit a room where inmates are lying on beds of nails while junior devils pound them with mallets. In another room, everyone is chained to the wall while hell-fires burn around them. In the last room offered, a bunch of people are drinking tea, standing knee-deep in shit. You figure what the hey, at least I get to drink tea, and it beats the other options. You assume your position, and a few minutes later a junior devil appears, delivers your tea, and leaves. Five minutes later, the junior devil returns: “Okay, you guys. Tea break is over. Back on your heads.

What kind of blog would you write?

Comment by Amy Ala Miller on February 26, 2013 at 9:54pm: Well that's one way to look at it.

I love Laurie's stuff, so yes I see your point. I also really love Meredith Soleau's blog, and she's a real live HR working person. My own writing, which really only lives here on RBC, is based on my real life experiences as a working corporate recruiter. A mix of cautionary tales, advice, and just plain old rants. If I left the industry I don't know that I'd have anything more to talk about.

Some people might like that. :)