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Straight Up Search has a great post about how listening to recorded messages (think podcasts) from job candidates can help employers better understand a candidate’s true personality. What a great idea!

I can think of several times that I have been quite excited to meet a certain applicant, only to find out later in a face-to-face interview that his personality in no way matches his resumé. It’s a real time-burner to weed out candidates this way. Listening to a brief “podcast greeting” attached to each resumé would help greatly.

I continue to see podcasting as kind of a “third dimension” internet technology. It delivers a much more complete feel for a person than does the printed page.

One of the reasons that I decided to become a professional Podcast Producer is because I could see how much real learning I was able to do by listening to podcasts during the time that I might otherwise waste. My morning commutes are key learning opportunities. The treadmill also provides at least a good half hour to listen to one of my favorite business-oriented podcasts .

So take it from a “knowledge junkie.” Podcasts are amazing sources of nearly free learning. If you don’t supplement your ongoing education with targeted podcast consumption, then maybe you aren’t serious about getting that next promotion.

These are the 10 business-oriented podcasts that I have found to be exceptional :

1. CIO Podcast(website| feed)
   overview: Great in-depth podcast for the manager that needs serious technology content. Might be a little overbearing for some. If technology is not your main focus, then you can get away with just casual listenership.
2. The Engaging Brand Podcast (website| feed)
   overview: A look at how to create a great place to work by motivation and inspiring your people to high performance.
3. Manager Tools (website| feed)
   overview - Manager Tools is a weekly podcast focused on helping you become a more effective manager and leader.
4. Inside PR (website | feed)
   overview: weekly podcast on the PR industry with a Canadian perspective.
5. 43 Folders (website | feed)
   overview: All sorts of great productivity tips and “lifehacks” from 43 Folders creator Merlin Mann. These episodes are a bit shorter than others listed here, so might be a good choice for those with short commutes and the like.
6. Brain Brew Radio (website | feed)
   overview: Doug Hall consults for corporate giants by day, but with this entertaining podcast he helps the “little guy” by answering callers’ questions about business marketing and product development. This show is just plain fun to listen to.
7. Entrepreneur’s Journey by Yaro Starak (website | feed)
   overview: Yaro is a young internet entrepreneur from Australia. You won’t want to miss this fascinating fellow.
8. Diary of a Shameless Self-Promoter (website | feed)
   overview: Well-produced show with lots of great content. Business owners need to learn the art of self-promotion, and this podcast will get you well on your way to self-promotion greatness.
9. Search Engine Watch Blog (website | feed)
   overview: Everything you ever wanted to know about what Google, Yahoo and the rest are up to next with their ppc plans, measurement tools, algorithms, etc.
10. Small Business Radio by Promethius Consulting (website | feed)
    overview: O.K. - this is the “shameless plug” portion of this post. We do work very hard to ensure that our podcast is of great value to business leaders. We cover all sorts of topics, but tend to revisit the technical side of things perhaps more than most.

I don’t claim to be any more qualified than the next guy to judge great writing from just decent writing, but we bloggers get used to having and sharing strong opinions about things. I’ve just been enjoying reading through recent blog posts of one of my favorite bloggers — Ann Handley — and this post really made me take notice.

Man, she is SO GOOD!!

You other bloggers surely know where I’m coming from. When we find someone that somehow manages to stand out in this endless idea-tickertape we call the blogosphere, we really take notice. More importantly, we want to understand how she does it!

Well, I’m happy to report that after about 90 minutes of sifting through roughly ten Ann Handley blog posts this morning (with the help of three cups of coffee and a bowl of Count Chocula somewhere along the way), I have cracked her code.

So here it is. The 5 Things That Make Ann Handley Float to the Top of the Primordial Blogosphere Ooze

1. Attitude - You really get the feeling through reading Ann’s blog that she is a “glass is half full” kinda person. This makes me more inclined to see what she is up to before some other bloggers. It’s often said that being controversial is a very effective blogging technique. Ann certainly proves that just the opposite can be true.
2. Writing Skill - Like I said, I’m no authority, but I really think Ann must be considered to be a great writer. Reading her blog is somehow effortless. It’s like riding a bike slightly downhill. There’s not much work to it and you even get a cool breeze across your face.
3. The Personal Touch - Ann makes it personal. She finds ways to share little snippets of her “real” life with her readers. Lessons are often triggered by something her kids said or did. We just naturally feel like she’s a friend over time because we know bits of her personal story.
4. The Wonderful Pictures - No, I’m not talking about jpegs here. I’m talking about Ann’s ability to paint pictures with words. Who else, to convey the uniqueness of each of her children, would refer to “the Chex Mix of their unique genetic makeup?” Classic!
5. ROI - In the midst of all of the above, she finds a way to deliver very useful information. I just can’t see a weak spot here.

Maybe the rest of us can use these keys to guide our own blog-writing. I suppose I have already tried to do so with this very post. I never would have divulged that I had Count Chocula this morning if I weren’t a believer in Ann’s rule # 3!

Want to advance your career by becoming fluent in a second language? Forget French. Say so-long to Spanish. You won’t believe what lingo I’d strongly suggest before any of the romance languages!

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