Death to the resume?
Not quite, but a paper resume may no longer be enough. You’ll need to up your CV game if you’re serious about landing a new job or expanding your prospects. This is particularly important in the tech and creative world. Startups, anyone?
A digital resume alternative gives you a lot of creative freedom to set yourself apart, and it also helps wrangle your personal SEO and professional online presence. With remote work opportunities increasing and telecommuting easing into normalcy, your digital footprint is becoming an increasingly important piece of a well-prepared job search.
Back in 2012, an estimated 37% of employers looked up potential employees, and seven years later, you can bet that number continues to grow. If you’re on the hunt for a new position, make sure to give those social media sleuths from HR something good to find when they Google your name.
about.me
about.me is what I like to call your personal landing page plus. Choose your layout and profile colors, then you simply follow the prompts. You’ll be able to add a bio summary, your social links, and whatever else you have on ye olde interwebz.
about.me is free to join, giving you access to an easy to set up with the option for advanced engagement features.
Adobe Portfolio
Adobe Portfolio is part of Creative Cloud. This integrated website building tool and hosting service lets you create beautiful portfolios with the help of clean, classic, and customizable templates. Portfolio is particularly well-suited for artists, designers, and others with visually-leaning experience and work histories. The templates are pretty and versatile. The available customization options help you focus on showcasing your best work without pulling you down a rabbit hole of endless changes.
Ah, LinkedIn— the most memeless of the social media platforms. As stodgy as this platform insists on being, LinkedIn is a hotspot for recruiters and HR professionals. Mid-career and looking for a minimum of a lateral move? LinkedIn can help you establish professional credibility. A friend of a friend was successfully lured from her former role over to Apple, whose recruiters reached out to her via LinkedIn. #TrueStory.
The best part of LinkedIn is the built-in social proof features that each user can take advantage of. Recommendations and skill endorsements can go a long way in building credibility, so roll up your sleeves, spiff up your LinkedIn profile, and get your digital networking on.
As you don’t live under a rock, I assume you know that LinkedIn is totes free, with a few kinda pricy Premium options that I’m convinced nobody opts for.
Self-hosted Personal Website
Type-A? I get it. You may want to opt for the precision control of a bespoke website crafted by your very own hand.
Grab yourself a domain name and a web host, and you’re halfway there. You can code a site from scratch, but I’d suggest a Content Management System like WordPress. After you set up with WordPress, you’ll have never-ending options for customizing your digital CV as often as you desire.
A domain will run you about $15 a year, with basic hosting clocking in at around $5/month. Pricing for WordPress themes varies greatly from absolutely free to a few hundred bucks if you need a hand with customization.
Recommendations
- Namecheap (domains)
- Hostgator (hosting)
- Studiopress (Premium WordPress themes, Genesis framework)
So there you have it, career seekers. Give yourself a leg up in the remote work job market by improving your online presence! A robust resume experience will make your story stick in the minds of recruiters and HR personnel.
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