How a website can land you a job

Saw a post on Business Insider the other day that I thought deserved some attention.

Titled “Why Every Job Seeker Needs a Personal Website — And What It Should Include,” the post talks about how having your own website can make you a more attractive job candidate.

This makes perfect sense. A website can show more about who you are in one glance than a paper résumé, which will often be scanned then set aside.

With a website, you can include far more information: bio, skills, accomplishments, work samples, photos, videos, links to the schools you attended or places you’ve worked … the list goes on.

Plus, websites are what we’re used to. We spend most of our day looking at websites; for many of us, scrolling and clicking has become ingrained. How many times have you humiliated yourself trying to scroll something that wasn’t at all scrollable? (I know I’m not the only person who has tried to scroll up on a book.)

We like information to be presented in a way that makes sense to us — on a screen. So the question isn’t, Why would you have your own personal website, it’s Why wouldn’t you?

A Personal Website Gives You a Leg Up

And yet, many job seekers don’t think about creating their own sites. Or, if they’ve thought about it, they’ve given it up because it’s too difficult.

According to Business Insider, “42% of people say they’ve struggled (or failed) to establish their own personal website because it’s time consuming.”

This is disheartening to read. Creating a simple website shouldn’t be so difficult. But more on that in a sec.

With so many people unable or unwilling to create their own websites, you definitely have an advantage. In a sea of paper résumés, your site will stand out. You will stand out.

Again, from Business Insider:

"’… it’s imperative that everyone have a website so that they can be found online, impress employers, and have a central place to store their achievements over their lifetimes,’ says Dan Schawbel, founder of WorkplaceTrends.com.”

Imperative. That pretty much sums it up.

How To Create an Inexpensive Personal Website

There are tons of options out there for creating a simple personal website. If you know a bit about how to maneuver around Wordpress, that’s a great option. Squarespace, Wix, and Weebly can all do the job.

One of the things we do here at Buildicus is help people create starter websites in order to find work. If you’re willing to create the site yourself, you can use our drag-and-drop editor.

If you don’t have the patience, or you think it might be too difficult, we can create a simple brochure site (4-5 pages max) for you for a one-time fee of $99, plus a monthly hosting fee of $19.

No matter how you get it built, taking the time to put together your own website puts you ahead of the job-seeking game. You’d be a fool not to do it.