Should You Have a
Personal Website?
June 03, 2019
What goes on your resume? Your name, contact info, education, your last few jobs and some skills. If you are skilled with words, you can get in
a few highlights for each position, but generally not everything that you want and what about those things that don’t really fit into a category
on a resume, but are important accomplishments or achievements? I know when I am looking for a job, I know that as good as my resume is, its still
just a white piece of paper just like everyone else’s. Now, what if I told you there is a way of putting more on a resume without using smaller font
or a larger sheet of paper. The secret to conveying everything you need to an employer is a personal website.
Having your very own page on the web can be a huge hiring advantage for anyone and with so many places to create one, such as wix.com, there really
isn’t an excuse to not have one.
I know what your thinking, “I already have a Facebook, Tumbler and Twitter account. Why do I need another place on the internet to post my accomplishments?”.
While having your business information on social media is one way of communicating information to potential employers, I would argue that it’s a poor way of going about
it. This year, the number of active Facebook users has risen to nearly 2.5 Billion. Earth is currently home to 7.5 Billion people, so if your goal was to stand out, you
failed. Additionally, maybe they found someone with the same name by accident and that person is not quite the outstanding citizen that you are. Having your own website
will help you get noticed, but that’s not the only reason its useful.
One of the most important aspects of developing your own internet location is the freedom it gives you to control how others see you. This is your opportunity to get
creative and express yourself while still conveying relevant information in a professional manner. Include a photo so that if someone visits your website before meeting
with you, they will already recognize you and have a fairly reasonable idea who you are and what you offer. As your career grows and you incorporate more and more of
your accomplishments into your site, you start establishing your ‘brand’.
Your ‘brand’ is important, but it must be established over time. The best way to do this is to include examples of your work on the website but being selective is key.
Put your truly great work up for display, but make sure that any shoddy work is left offline. Remember, you control your image, so its important that you find those pro
jects that truly define you at your best. If you are in a computer science related field, you could go a step further and design your website from the ground up. It is
more work, but ultimately worth it when you are trying to show off your skills. Just don't forget that this site is a reflection of you, so if your CSS and HTML
look like these two sites, you might try wordpress first.
