You don’t have to be a designer to rock an awesome online portfolio. Online portfolios have numerous benefits for every job seeker, especially for those who are looking to network and find job opportunities online.
This week we’ve gathered some ideas to help you turn your resume into a beautiful, interactive display that showcases your work.
An online resume doesn’t necessarily replace a printed resume; consider it more of an additional tool in your job hunting tool box. According to a recent article, recruiters will almost always look you up online.
“86% of recruiters admit to reviewing candidates’ online profiles,” career expert Amanda Augustine recently told Business Insider. “So why not include your URL along with your contact information? This will prevent recruiters from having to guess or mistaking you for someone else.”
How to get started
Before you pick a user-friendly platform like about.me or Contently, think about the audience you want to draw in and the jobs you are interested in. If you’re looking to catch a certain employer’s eye, think about the networks that those recruiters are using daily.
For example, Spiceworks is another user-friendly platform. It allows you to create a clean-cut online portfolio. Plus, its tech-centered audience makes it ideal for tech professionals, such as developers.
Show, don’t tell
Many people tend to fixate on a bulleted list of employment history instead of the results-driven projects they completed at their place of employment.
Think about all of the different mediums you can utilize to tell your story. Whether it’s a video clip from Youtube, high-resolution photos from Flickr or a sound bite from Soundcloud, employers love to see interactive displays of a jobseeker’s work.
Get creative
Even if your work isn’t particularly visual, you can make it eye opening by adding infographics, charts and news clippings or blog entries about your work.
If your projects require more than just a computer screen, employers may be interested in your processes as well. Take pictures and display those hard-working actions that make your work great.
Be organized
Be careful to not go overboard. You want to make sure your portfolio is clean, concise and user-friendly. Also, make sure all of your elements have an overarching theme, and that they are projects that got results.
Speaking of results, everything on your resume and portfolio should be quantified if possible. For example, did you hit any record sales? How many programs have you coded during your employment? How many readers did you attract to your past employer’s website? The more numbers, the better.
What to include
Another important detail to include in your online portfolio is your motto or your mission statement. Pick something that shows off your work ethic and says something bold about the way you like to do business.