Relaunching the DZJ Blog: This Blog’s For You
When I first started this blog in 2009, I didn’t know what I wanted to write about, I just thought I needed to. If you had a website, you were supposed to have a blog. The few posts I wrote were unfocused and didn’t draw much discussion in the comments, so I’ve deleted them and will start again.
This time I have a much better idea of what I want to do. People are confused and uncertain about the future of contracting in general and the pursuit of contracting jobs overseas specifically.
So I thought about writing about contracting in general, what I all the “big picture stuff”, but I think David Isenberg is doing a great job of that on his Huffington Post blog.
Another person I like to read is Ms. Sparky, a former KBR contractor now back in the US, who brings a unique style to her posts trying to hold KBR and other contracting companies accountable. There are also other bloggers I follow, which you can find on the right side of this page.
So Danger Zone Jobs is somewhere in between. This blog should be about what people come to our site for in the first place: getting help finding an overseas contracting job. So that’s what I’ll do. It may seem obvious, but I spend a good part of every day reading government reports, company press releaseas, news articles, listening to congressional testimony, and so on. That process makes it easy for me to get lost in all the little (and big) details, and sometimes forget who this site is for.
I keep a picture on my desk of a group of my poker buddies over in Kuwait. We had a more or less regular poker game every Thursday from 1994 until I left in 2008. Many contractors came through our game during those years, people who worked for companies like KBR, AECOM, ITT, DYNCORP and CSA. They were the inspiration for Danger Zone Jobs.
So Floyd, Farrel, James and all the other Brothers of the Green Felt Roundtable, this blog is for you, and the thousands of contractors like you.
Comments
7 Responses to “Relaunching the DZJ Blog: This Blog’s For You”
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I am a new member this year 2010.
I got downsized with ITT APS-5 in Doha, Qatar in Dec21, 2009.
No comment right now.
Great idea to be more job oriented for us to help us find work.
NO WORK IN THE U.S. Would rather be with family but have to try
to get employment to support extended family living at home.
Sons can’t support themselves in this horrible economy.
I’m tired of all the health care , job , and other media junk.
There are really millions out of work or underemployed, etc.
I’m tryiing for a job.
Sorry to sound so negative. But the whole U.S. is really falling apart.
Keep up the good work. More employer comments on contracts, etc.
Like who will run APS-5 in 2011.
thanks, gene
Great to start the blog again with a better focus. I couldn’t agree with Gene more. I am working part time and trying to break back into overseas work. Really nothing in the U.S. now. DZ has been very helpful. The interview with the HR guy was very insightful. Thanks.
This finding work is becoming hard. I started contracting almost eigth years ago and the jobs wrer everywhere now they seem hard to find. Lucky, I have one here in the states but to pay bills and get aheard I need to go back overseas.
I know that DZJ has always been good to check to see want is happening but finding work is the big thing for most of us after all that’s what it’s about, good job, good friends and feeding the family.
I’m glad to see you getting back into the contacting area. We can use it.
Best of luck on re-launching your blog. I would agree that a job seeking type of blog is most appropriate for this website. Having done a jobs-blog in the past, I’ll say it’s a lot of work to do it right.
I found that job seekers aren’t primarily interested in job seeking information that is tangental (nice to know) to their specific situation. News, Features, etc. never was a big draw for me. Perhaps this site is an an exception: following the contracts and bidders is useful information if used properly.
I also found that case histories were highly valued by the users. Specific company information was also highly valued. But that’s an area where a blog publisher may need to avoid; employers don’t lke people blabbing about their, for instance, search/sourcing behavior or particulars about how they make hiring decisions. (Pays the mortgage for lawyers, so to speak.)
The bottomline is providing specifics and details as much as possible will increase the value of your blog.
Good luck.
Awesome, and the more bloggers the better. Hey, do you have an RSS feed for this blog, so I can put you up on my Google Reader? Or do you have a Facebook or Twitter account? Those are great tools to get the word out about what you are doing, and I am sure you would get a ton of friends on both. They work well for Feral Jundi. Cheers.
I’ve added the RSS feeds on the right side. No Facebook or Twitter yet. I agree Matt the more bloggers the better…are you interested? We’d love to have you!
Welcome back to blogging. I wouldn’t even have known had I not started seeing direct hits from your blog. I always chase those links to see who’s linking to “Ms Sparky” so I can reciprocate, and that I will.
Good Luck…as if you need it! Don’t forget to claim your blog on Technorati.
I’m sure we will be in touch.
Debbie
aka Ms Sparky