Imagine if there was a website that was dedicated to your career, your solutions, and all of the awesome things you can do really well. Kind of like a multimedia, interactive resume. If people liked what they saw, they could get in touch with you right away. You could put a link to that website on your LinkedIn profile, on your Facebook, on your Twitter, on your online job applications.

Would this change the way people see you? Would this change the way you see yourself. Would it improve your prospects for getting a job?
It just might.

Now imagine you are hiring manager who gets hundreds of job applications from people with traditional resumes. Then one applicants says, “Check out this link to the e-resume portfolio website that I built myself to show you why I’m the right person this job.” This could really set you apart from the other applicants. Especially if they like what they see when they arrive at your site.

If you’re thinking, “Portfolio sites are great for web designers and photographers. But I’m a ________.” You might be surprised to learn that lots of careers can benefit from portfolio sites. Especially careers that are web related or involve marketing, writing or any kind of community outreach.

It’s still rare for people to have a personal website. When you have one it says a lot about you.

Does this sound like you?

• You love your work and stay on top of current trends
• You love to network online and use social media
• You are not afraid of technology
• You posted your resume online and applied to some jobs, but you are having trouble getting interviews

If you said “Yes” to at least two of these questions then you might be ready to take the plunge and build yourself e-resume portfolio website.

The Quickest Way to Build Your Own e-Resume Portfolio Website

If you’ve never build a website before, WordPress.com is the place to go to set up a free blog portfolio website. You get a website, a  domain and a large selection of website templates to choose from, all for free!

What an e-resume portfolio web says about you

Employers are always looking for “self-starters” who are willing to take the initiative to solve the problems and do whatever it takes to get the job done. This tends to be the kind of person who creates a personal website.

1. It demonstrates that you are technically saavy. Recruiters, and people who are considering hiring you, see that you know your way around websites, social media and the Internet. If you’ve never built a website before, then creating one will enable you to add a whole new crop of skills to your repetoire. These skills increase your value to the people who hire you.
2. It shows initiative. People can see that you are willing to do extra work on your own time to develop your expertise.
3. It shows your sense of style. You can add personal touches to your website that show your sense of style – colours, photographs, tweets, fonts, writing style, stories, sense of humour.
4. It shows your enthusiasm for your work. Just the fact that you took the time to make a personal website shows how much you love your work and that you are willing to learn and develop your skills.
5. It shows your communication skills. When you describe your accomplishments and how you have used your skills on real projects, it proves to people that you can communicate what you know.
6. It shows that you are a contributing member of a professional community who stays on top of the trends. If you write helpful and practical blog posts with information that is relevant to your field, people see that you are willing to contribute to your community. You are the kind of person that they want to work with.
7. It sets you apart from the competition. Unless you’re a web designer or a photographer, it’s still fairly unusual for people to have a personal website.
8. It shows your creativity. An e-resume is way more interesting to read than a traditional resume. Recruiters skim hundreds of resumes a week that look mostly the same. Imagine how refreshing it is to click through a link to someone’s personal portfolio website and see images and links to real examples of the person’s talents, work and skills.
9. It builds trust. When people see your personal website, and examples of your real work, they feel like they know you. It proves that you know what you’re talking about and that you have the chops to do the job.
10. It showcases your best work. It doesn’t have to be visual work. You can also use symbolic images and text to demonstrate your best qualities like organization, writing, problem solving, trouble-shooting, programming languages, bilingualism, or any professional skill. I’ll show you how.

If you have a e-resume portfolio website, let me know in the comments section below. I would love to check it out.