The name of the game in getting noticed (and hopefully hired!) by employers is setting yourself apart from all of the other applicants. In an increasingly competitive job market, you need to have a plan of action for how to get noticed on your job hunt, and that plan of action should include creating a personal website.
With a personal website, you have the opportunity to take your tired resume and make it visual, interactive, and more in-depth, while also having the ability to actually convey a little bit of who you are. Select and register a domain name that will jump off the page of your job application and be easily remembered by all who see it, then get to work on your site. Submitting a job application with only a resume and cover letter is not only boring, but is also exactly what every other applicant is doing. Grab the attention of recruiters and hiring managers and allow them to learn more about you and what you can do with a website that builds your personal brand.
Set Yourself Apart
It’s an indisputable truth that having a personal website will give you a leg up in the search for your next job. When hundreds of resumes are flooding in, each vying for a chance at the same open position, they all start to look the same (and often do not even receive more than a glance). Being able to send a link to a personal website along with a job application shows that you are willing to put in some extra work and that you are proud of the work that you have done and the skills that you possess.
Make Work Samples Accessible
A personal website gives you the ability to gather all of your best work together in one place to be put out on display. Having work samples available to be viewed by potential employers is what will bring all that you said in your resume about yourself and your previous jobs to life. It is one thing to read on a resume that an individual is creative and has experience putting together interesting infographics, but it is another thing entirely to read that and then be able to SEE the individual’s creativity in their infographics on their website — all without the examples of infographics having to be asked for!
Think of Your Site as a Dynamic Resume
Almost the second that you hand your resume over to a hiring manager, it becomes old news. As soon as you make a new accomplishment or learn a new skill, the only way employers will know about it is if you update your resume and send the updated version to them. You could be sending out new copies of your resume pretty frequently! With a website, you can quickly and easily update it anytime you find it is necessary. And, since a website is always online and accessible to viewers, there is no longer the need to actively send out updated skill lists or new work samples — it will all be on your website.
Hone Your Skills in the Process
You become a much more attractive job candidate when employers see the work you did in creating your personal website. Putting one together requires technical and design knowledge, whether you already have some of that when you begin or pick it all up along the way in the learning process. No matter what your knowledge base is at the start of creating your personal website, you will certainly develop your marketing and web skills as you build it, and this will not go unnoticed by anyone who sees your site.
Taking the time and devoting the energy to creating a personal website will absolutely help you get noticed in your job search. Putting all your work samples, past experience, and skills together in a visual and interactive online setting will set you apart from those competing against you and make you an attractive and capable potential hire.
