NAS Talent Talk

Google Reader: A Scheduler’s Dream

February 22, 2011 at 5:04 pm sarahwering 2 comments

Everyone has their favorite form of technology that they can’t remember living without. Maybe you’re married to your Blackberry and cannot imagine waiting until you are in front of a computer to check your email. By the way, when is the last time you used a pay phone? Do you drive to the store to pick up a new CD, or do you simply add your favorite tracks to your iPod?

For me, one technological innovation stands above the rest: the DVR. My husband and I have a variety of programs we enjoy, including sitcoms, crime dramas and, yes, even a soap opera. Before our DVR, we had to remember when each of our shows was on and plan our evening around them. Need to have the dishes done by 8 to watch our show! Mom is calling – what is she thinking interrupting the Apprentice’s boardroom? And, if you fall asleep after a long day, forget figuring out if they caught the “perp” on Law and Order. In 2006, when the cable company added on the DVR as part of a promotional package, I at first did not realize the full scope of freedom that I was adding to my life. Very quickly, however, I was addicted. I can set a series to record and forget what time it actually comes on! I can fast forward through commercials! I can pause TV to move the laundry along! I can talk to Mom AND hear Donald Trump deliver his magical “You’re Fired!” line! The power to create my own TV watching schedule had been bestowed upon me.

I previously proclaimed my love for Twitter, and today I would like to share my love for Google Reader, or how I think of it, the DVR scheduler of blogs. Much like my DVR gave me the power to watch my favorite shows at a time that is convenient for me, my Google Reader allows me to keep up with Human Resources industry thought leaders and employment trends in a manner that fits with my schedule.

For those of you unfamiliar with Google Reader, this free service allows you to customize all of your online reading into one easy-access location. Let’s say that part of your regular routine is to visit ERE.net, RecruitingBlogs.com and Human Resources Executive Online to read the latest posts on recruiting news and trends. Rather than visit each of these sites separately, you can set your Google Reader to receive the updates from all three sites in one location.

Here is a guide for getting started:

1)      Establish your blog reading purpose. There are millions upon millions of blogs out there. Before you jump into reading online content, identify what professional purpose your blog reading will serve. For example, my purpose is to stay on top of the employment marketplace and current HR trends. This is the criteria I use to evaluate my reading. If the blog does not support the above goal, even it’s interesting, it doesn’t make my reader.

2)      Sign up for a Google Reader account at www.google.com/reader. It’s free – just include your email and a password. You don’t need to use Google for your email or anything – it’s totally separate.

3)      In the top left-hand corner, click on “Add a Subscription.” This will allow you to start building your content. If you don’t know the exact link to a site, you can search by name. For example, if you search for ERE, below is what appears. You are able to see the name of the blog, the number of subscribers and the average number of posts that will appear in your reader. 4)      Add sites you already visit. If you already visit any blogs, check to see if you can click on an option such as the one below to “Subscribe to articles via RSS.” The links will allow you to add the site to your Google Reader in one step.

5)      Organize your reader into categories. This will help you to stay focused when reviewing content. To organize your blogs, click on “Manage Subscriptions” in the very bottom left-hand corner. This will allow you to create folder names for your blogs. For example, my folders include Advertising; Diversity; Employer Branding; General HR; Management Tips; Search Engines; and Social Media.

6)      Look for new content to explore. On the left-hand toolbar, select “Recommended Sources.” This will give you some suggestions of other blogs to check out. For example, Google Reader recommends that I try the “Human Resource News” blog below, and also lists six other HR sites that I can try to see if they add value to my educational goals.



7)      Set aside a time to review your blogs. I recommend starting by adding blog reading to your calendar three times a week.

8)      Prepare to skim. A very important note here- if you start following a large number of blogs, you will most likely not have time to read each of them. The beauty of Google Reader is that you can scroll through your various blogs and read headlines and graphs. When content catches your eye or is relevant to your needs, you can choose to read those articles. However, just reviewing nuggets about what trends are being discussed will help you to stay on the pulse of the ever evolving industry of HR.

9)      Cancel duplicate e-newsletter subscriptions. This is a great step that has helped my time management efforts. I used to receive a lot of content in my email that I would save for later reading. Now, I am able to minimize my inbox clutter by adding that same content to my Reader. This keeps my professional reading in two buckets: electronic via Google Reader and print-based via books or magazines.

10)   Eliminate content not adding to your purpose. There are plenty of blogs that I have started following that I later decided did not suit my overall purpose. Be sure to unsubscribe to any content that it cluttering your Reader.

11)   Share the content in your Reader. I most frequently use Twitter to share great articles. You can also put a great article as your status on LinkedIn. Or, you can email it to your colleagues to help show that you’re a superstar keeping up with industry trends.

Google Reader is a manageable way to read the content published online that interests you the most. You’ll be able to fit your reading into your schedule in a way that makes sense for you, but you won’t have to worry about missing anything when you’re too busy to check the headlines for a day or two. And who knows, with the time you save organizing your online reading, you just may have time to add another show to your DVR list…

Kendra Pearson is passionate about helping companies attract and retain top talent. She assists organizations with perfecting their employment messaging, utilizing the right channels to deploy that message and then measuring the ROI. Kendra has been with NAS Recruitment Communications for six years, and currently serves as director of the Raleigh, North Carolina office.

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