Five Must Haves on a Resume Website
Within the past 20 years, almost everything in our lives has been digitized, we read newspapers online, read books online, and most of us even order our food online. So how come we are still applying for a job by representing ourselves on an A4 piece of paper? In the past it was very difficult to create a website and therefore an online portfolio was something only a handful of people actually had, today, however, there really isn’t a reason why you shouldn’t have a resume website.
Thanks to the advances of website builders, building a resume website is really just as easy as typing the same information into a Word document. Here are five things to remember when creating your new resume website.
Keep it up to date
You would be surprised how many people create a website only to then completely forget about it. Would you go to a job interview with an outdated Resume? Hopefully not, and it should be just the same with your resume website, you need to make sure the information on there is up to date.
Responsive Design
In 2013 almost 50% of all emails were opened on mobile devices, in other words, if your online resume isn’t mobile optimized then you are already missing out on half of your future job opportunities. If you use a responsive design, then it means your future employer can view your resume on any device, and any device means anywhere. Whether they are in their office or on the train back home, they will always have access to your resume, and that is a win-win situation.
Keep it simple
There is nothing worse than sifting through a five page resume, an online resume is no different. While it might be very tempting to add everything you could possibly think of to your resume, please don’t. It is always a good idea to add your name and contact information to the top of your page, that way potential employers will quickly be able to see if they have come to the right page or not.
SEO & Keywords
It is no secret that Google is the first resource, employers use when trying to find out more information about future employees. Often the resume is just used as a springboard before searching for more information. In other words you need to make sure your resume website is SEO optimized and filled with keywords that will make it easy for your future employer to find you. Many companies search for candidates through the use of Keywords, if your resume doesn’t have any keywords, then chances are someone else will end up getting the job instead of you.
Contact info & Social Media
Often one of the first things people add to their Resume is their contact information. There is absolutely no reason why your online resume should be any different. You need to make sure your contact information is very visible, otherwise how will a potential employer ever be able to get in touch. Many website builders make it very easy to for visitors to get in touch with you by offering a free contact form.
Secondly, since you are already building a resume online, do not forget to add links to your social media sites. Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn are must haves, and depending on what industry you are operating within, you should also add links to your YouTube site and if you are a designer you might want to add deviantART.
Summary
To summarize the above article, if you want to create a stunning resume website, then you need to remember to always keep it updated, make sure your contact information is very visible, furthermore, you need to keep the design simple, make sure you use a responsive design and that your website is SEO optimized. If you follow these simple steps then you should be that much closer to landing your dream job.
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