In today’s savvy and competitive world, company recruiters are looking for candidates to stand out from the piles and piles of application they receive on a daily basis. Studies show that job recruiters spend a max of six seconds looking at your resume. Only six seconds? If that’s all a paper resume gets, then it just doesn’t cut it. Nowadays recruiters are looking for more and here’s the secret to wowing them:
Create your own personal website.
That’s right. It’s time to transform that paper resume into its digital form. Here are three benefits of having your own personal website:
- You get your feet wet in branding.
When you build your own personal website, you are creating a space for yourself online. What you say on it and what you put on it becomes your brand. By having something solid about yourself to exhibit to the world, you are telling recruiters that you know how to market yourself and am not afraid to show it. - More space to show who you are.
A website allows you to add pages, insert images, post videos, write blog posts, and put whatever it is you wish others to see. You can show off your hobbies, your thoughts, and anything that highlights you in a positive light. It gives recruiters a larger view of who you are. They may be in like with your work experience, but fall in love with your personality. - You’re a diamond in the rough!
Everyone is on social media. So are recruiters. 91% of recruiters use social networking sites to screen prospective employees. What this means is they’re flipping through your Twitter, searching you on Facebook, and seeing if you’re active on other social platforms. Even though this is an obvious fact, most students do not acknowledge it and focus too little on monitoring and building their online presence. Only 7% of job seekers actually have a personal website according to Workfolio. If you build a personal website, you are added to the elite group of students who stand out – and get hired.
Now, the hardest part is always getting the site built. Most students are not web developers and hey, that’s totally fine! You may not know how to code, you may not be tech savvy, but you may not worry. There’s plenty of resources you can utilize to get yourself on the web.
Here’s five FREE and easy tools to creating your own personal website:
1. Wix.com
Wix.com has over 42 million users because it is one of the easiest and fastest free website builder tool out there. With hundreds of pre-designed templates that are both stunning and mobile-friendly, you can get your personal page up in no time. The first website I built was on Wix. How long did it take? Only three hours. Wix’s website builder tool has easy-to-use drag and drop functions so that you can become a wix pro in no time too.
2. About.Me
Now if you don’t exactly want to have an entire website to yourself, then About.Me is the tool for you. Most students don’t have an art or design portfolio to showcase, and that’s ok. About.Me gives you the ability to create a beautiful, personalized one page website. From this one page, people can read a description about you, be connected to your other social media accounts, and visually see who you are. What a way to make recruiters’ lives easier! One page to show them all.
3. Tumblr
“Wait, what? The website I use for fun and reblog memes?” Yes, that’s it! Tumblr is a great way for you to express your thoughts, post appropriate photos of your adventures, and get personal. Most importantly, it’s a tool most students are familiar with. Get creative, and change it into something else other than a photo-sharing blog. You can use it as your travel journal, to write posts regarding your previous or current work experience, or as a way to showcase your hobby. Whether it be art, photos, or DIY projects, don’t be afraid to put it on Tumblr to show employers that you’re talented and have something else to offer other than your professional self. Purchase your own domain and connect it to tumblr to turn it into a more personalized webpage.
4. WordPress
You’ve probably heard of WordPress but do you know the difference between WordPress.com and WordPress.org? WordPress.org is generally for more web savvy students who have experience in coding and messing around with site plugins. WordPress.com is probably where most students will end up. That’s because WordPress.com allows you to create your own blog in a 100% free and simple way. WordPress offers you thousands of themes to choose from and everyone know it’s an extremely reliable blogging platform. A perfect website builder for beginners with great content!
5. Strikingly
Strikingly combines the simplicity of a one page with the complexity of a multi-page website. If you’re a fan of having everything viewable in a single page, this is the web app for you. Create a slick and detailed site that allows the addition of different sections so you don’t have to leave out anything. What’s sweet about Strikingly is that they provide you with slick customizable templates. Whether you’re adding a portfolio or your professional experience, Strikingly makes it easy for you to make and also for others to see. A recruiter just need to keep scrolling down the web page to get to know you more!
Remember that your website would be a great place to connect all your other online social or professional accounts such as your WayUp profile.
