THE BEECHMONT CREST CAREER GUIDE:
SURVIVING AND THRIVING IN THE CORPORATE JUNGLE
Chapter 3: Organize, Market, and Sell Yourself
The internet as a bi-directional tool for the job seeker
You probably already knew that the Internet was a valuable tool for finding a new job. (By this point, who hasn’t heard of Monster.com, HotJobs, etc, etc.?) You can search job databases on the internet, visit the websites of potential employers, and read a lifetime’s worth of articles about resume-writing, the current state of the job market, and the latest trends among employers in your industry.
All of these activities focus on using the internet as a tool for gathering information. Why not also harness the World Wide Web as a conduit for propagating some information of your own? All you need is a little time, some effort, and a willingness to invest a modest amount of money.
The technical capabilities and financial resources needed to create a web presence are now within the reach of practically anyone. Therefore, you can easily construct a website which will work hand-in-hand with your resume.
Why should you have a website and a resume? In a previous chapter, we discussed the importance of crafting a concise resume. The requisite brevity of your curriculum vitae prevents you from including additional information that would be of interest to potential employers. Some of this information might include:
Details about special projects that you have completed
Visual samples of your work
Essays that you have written about your area(s) of expertise (a great tool for positioning yourself as an expert in your field)
This degree of detail cannot realistically be fit into any resume format, but it can be easily integrated into a website. While all the content on your website should be meaningful, you have considerable leeway where volume is concerned. For example, if you published a fifteen-page research study that is relevant to your field, you can make the entire document available online as a sample of your talents.
Making employers aware of your online presence is easy. After you build your site, include the URL (web address) at the top of your resume, just under your name and contact information:
Your Name
Your Address
Your City, ST 9999
Your_email@yahoo.com
www.YOUR-URL.com
You can also include a reference to your URL as a signature at the bottom of emails and cover letters. If you include you web address in your job search correspondence, you are almost guaranteed to get some hits. A promotional website crafted by an individual job seeker is still a novelty.
To create an effective website to contemplate your resume, you don’t have to be an artist. Good organization is more important than impressive visual elements. In fact, your site should be deliberate conservative in appearance. Opt for a staid color scheme; avoid distracting sound files and flashy graphics.
Also, make sure that you don’t include any non-professional content. (This is a temptation that will be difficult to avoid.) After you have landed your dream job, you can build a purely personal website that includes pictures of your dog, your houseboat, and your coin collection. However, these are strictly verboten on your resume website—which should be all business.
To get an idea of what a professional curriculum vitae website should look like, visit the websites of some of the many freelance programmers, business consultants, and other contract professionals who are established on the internet in large numbers.
Copyright 2006 Beechmont Crest Publishing