Although the economy is purportedly getting better, many people are still feeling the recession hangover. Whether you’re unemployed or just underemployed and looking for something better, it’s important to do everything you can to give yourself a leg up in your job search. One technique is to build a website about yourself in a professional sense, using it to complement your paper résumé.
Benefits of a Professional Website
Potential employers often follow up on interesting candidates by searching for information about them online, which is why it’s so important to be careful with your social media accounts. Control what the public sees, or at least direct them to useful information by creating a professional website that goes over your qualifications much more comprehensively than your résumé can. Your website can also get your name out to employers and headhunters who you didn’t even apply with.
Types of Professionals Who Benefit Most from an Online Résumé and Portfolio
Although posting your standard one-page text résumé on a website can help get your name out, it doesn’t really do much to add to what potential employers already know about you. You want to add more content, usually projects you have completed that potential employers can browse to see concrete examples of your work. Therefore, online resumes are better tailored toward professionals whose work is project-based with a portfolio of past work. These types of professionals include: