Ditch Your CV and Create a Website
The humble CV has long been the best way to show off your experience and qualifications to a prospective employer. But is a list of grades and previous employers really enough to stand out amongst the brightest and best in your field?
Instead of relying on 2 pages of A4, many top candidates are now designing a website to show off their abilities. The advantages are obvious: you have more space to show off, you can link to relevant sources to demonstrate your skills and you can use all your wiley marketing capabilities to lead potential employers to all the relevant information.
So, what do you need to do?
Plan Your Design
Good website design is all about clarity and usability. Anyone visiting your site needs to know what it’s about immediately and then be able to navigate intuitively to find out more. Even if you aren’t a website designer, you will be judged on what your site looks like so it might be a good idea to get some help.
Some of the best personal websites provide lots of information in a clear and obvious manner. Instead of large paragraphs, information is broken up using subheadings and may even be spread across a few pages. Using pictures and videos smartly will help to break up large chunks of text too.
Make Regular Updates
Making regular updates to your site will ensure that all the information is correct and relevant to your current ambitions. You don’t want a recruiter or potential employer to see your site and dismiss it because you’ve forgotten to add a key project or skill they are looking for! Remember that this is a kind of first impression so make it a good one.
Adding a blog to your site is a brilliant way to keep your site updated too. You could use your blog to comment on industry developments or share your experiences. This will help you to boost your SEO and ensure that your site remains high on the rankings. Keeping a high ranking is really important because you want your site to be the first thing a potential employer sees.
Share, Share, Share!
Once you’ve got your site up and running, you need to start sharing. Putting a link on your LinkedIn and social media is a good way to get noticed but you might also like to send a link to any prospective employer you’ve got your eye on. If you want to be a little more subtle in your approach, try sharing links from your blog rather than the main page. But whatever you do, don’t limit yourself when sharing – the more places you can share your content, the more likely it is to be seen.
CVs still work just fine but if you really want to stand out, a personal website is the best option. This is your chance to point out your best features and make a fantastic first impression. So, gather your resources and start planning your site.