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How a Personal Website Enhances Your Job Search

Regardless of the field you’re in, a personal website significantly enhances your online presence, and can elevate your profile as you hunt for a new job opportunity. Whether you’re an artist, an engineer, a teacher, or something in between, establishing a presence online allows you to give potential employers a better look at who you are, what you’ve accomplished, and why you’d be a great addition to their team. Here’s why you should consider building a professional portfolio today:

It makes you more than just a resume.

You know that hiring managers are getting dozens and dozens of resumes dumped on their desks each day. Even if you’ve received a significant amount of training and have earned numerous awards over the years, it’s easy for your resume to just blend into the pile. When you have a professional website, it allows you to differentiate yourself from the pack.

It gives a more 3D look at who you are and what you’re about.

Your website can contain photos of your work, a head shot, a blurb about your philosophy, testimonials from clients or past employers, and other materials that pack a punch when it comes to showing hiring managers why they should add you to their team.

It shows that you take your career seriously.

When you invest the time and money necessary to develop a personal website, it illustrates to hiring managers that your career is important to you. You clearly didn’t just toss together an application because you weren’t sure what other jobs to apply for.

It puts you in the driver’s seat in terms of what people find when they Google you.

Ideally your online reputation is strong anyway, but adding even more positive content about you is important. When a potential employer searches you online and finds a polished and easy-to-navigate website, it makes a positive impression.

It gives a glimpse of your personality before you come in for an interview.

Professional portfolios don’t have to be stiff and boring. In fact, they should give potential employers a sense of what you’re all about. Add some personality let people see who you are. Viewing your portfolio before the interview actually saves the hiring manager time in the screening process, which is also appreciated.

If you don’t have a lot of extra money to spend on a site, there are a number of tools that you can utilize to put together a site for a low price point, without sacrificing on quality. You don’t need to spend thousands to develop a site you’re proud of.

How have you used a professional portfolio to enhance your job search? Share with us in the comments!

Lauren Levine

Lauren Levine is a copywriter/blogger who contributes to a number of magazines and websites including The Frisky, USA Today, and others. She also authors her own blog called Life with Lauren. She loves cooking, anything on the E! network, and is trying to convince herself that running isn't so bad.

1 comment

  • Hello Lauren,

    I have created many web portfolios for clients and i have always gotten great feed back! Your article is bang on and i think many people should take your post into consideration if they are looking to stand out from the crowd. This also gives the benefit of using it as a hub to link all social media so they can have a better understanding of you but makes it easy for you to monitor messages and your employment networking.

    Cheers

    BL