How To Set Up A Personal Website To Support Your Job Search In 3 Easy Steps
Did you know that you can have a personal website set up with a personal domain name in under one hour for about $10 per year? When I meet with job seekers and discuss setting up a personal website, I find that most people think setting up a site is a big undertaking. I am here to dispel that terrible rumor.
Setting up a personal website can be fast, easy and very inexpensive, and provides many benefits to your job search.
- A personal website will help improve your online visibility (SEO) to help you “be found” when recruiters and hiring managers look for you- or candidates that look like you with your skills and abilities.
- You can reinforce and build your online brand by including website content that showcases your unique skills, abilities and qualifications. And, because it is your website, you can update the content and design anytime.
Here’s how you can set up a personal website in three easy steps:
Step One: Reserve Your Personal Domain Name, www.firstlast.com
The first step in setting up a personal website, is reserving a personal domain, i.e. www.yourname.com. I recommend using GoDaddy for domain reservations because their interface is fairly easy to use, the process is fast and most .com domains cost just over $10 per year.
Since one of the objectives of creating your own site, is to improve your online visibility and search engine rank, you should attempt to reserve your first and last name as the domain. If your name is already taken, try adding a dash between your first and last name or adding your middle initial.
Note: When you reserve your domain there is no need to pay for the list of addons provided such as WordPress hosting. Just get the basic domain service with no exras. You can always pay for more options at a later time.
Step Two: Sign Up For An Account At WordPress.com
The free, WordPress.com platform is not just for blogging. With a choice of 80, free themes you can design a very attractive, personal website in a few minutes. Simply go to WordPress and follow the steps provided to create an account and then point your personal domain name to your site.
There are 
other free blogging platforms to choose from, ex, Blogger, but after reviewing them all, I have found that WordPress.com provides the most design options and colors (themes), to make your site look more like a site- versus a blog.
The other great thing about WordPress is, if you want to start blogging at a later date, you are ready to go. With a few clicks, your personal website can also have a personal blog.
Step Three: Add Your Website Content
These are the basic elements that I recommend your personal site includes:
- About Page: Your “about section” is a personal bio that highlights your unique skills and abilities AND focuses on what you can do for your prospective employer and how you can positively impact their business results. The words, phrases and branding should be aligned with your LinkedIn profile summary information, but don’t need to be identical.
- Contact Page: Include a page that lists your telephone number and email address. I do not recommend displaying your home address for confidentiality and safety reasons. When you display your email, you may want to write out the words to prevent spammers from capturing it. Example: Instead of john@johnsmith.com display john at johnsmith dot com.
- Resume Summary: Create a version of your resume that summarizes your experience and generates interest, but does not include all of the details. Your goal is to summon curiosity so that you get a phone call or email from a recruiter or hiring manager. After they make contact, you can then provide a copy of your full resume. (I recommend including your city and state, but not your home address for confidentiality and safety reasons.)
- Photo: For all the same reasons you should include a photo in your social networking profiles, include a photo somewhere in your personal website. Flattering photos help to draw in and engage viewers, and personalize your web presence. Check out this post, “Strengthen your personal brand with an online photo“.
- Twitter Feed: If you are actively using Twitter (which you should!), display your Twitter feed as part of your consistent navigation.
- Links: Display links back to your LinkedIn Profile and to any other online content that may be relevant. For example, if you have guest blogged or published articles that are business related, you may want to include links back to that content.
Beyond The Basics:
- Keywords: How will recruiters or hiring managers find your personal website? Via keywords. Be sure that your content includes the keywords that may be used to find someone with your skills and abilities. Learn more in this article, “The power of keywords in your social network profiles”.
- Samples Of Your Work: In your last role, did you create an impressive powerpoint about a new company strategy or department project? Did you create a unique excel spreadsheet report or marketing model? Assuming that you will not breach any confidentiality agreements, you may want to display links to sample work that demonstrates and reinforces your unique set of talents.
- A Blog: If you are a strong business writer, have specific expertise or opinions about a career related topic, and have the time to publish weekly content, you may want to start blogging. Blog content will draw more visitors to your website and is another way to showcase your abilities. Check out this post: “Blogging 101 for your job search“.
Bottom Line
Setting up a personal website can be fast, easy and very inexpensive, and provides many benefits to your job search. Get started right now!
Copyright February 2010, Marci Reynolds, All Rights Reserved
If you are displaying all of your Tweets as LinkedIn Status Updates you may see your connections start to fly away. The frequency of Tweeting and the content within Tweets is not always applicable to both audience groups.
There are many good things about the recent Twitter – LinkedIn integration, but I encourage you to consider some of the following do’s and don’t’s.
What Is It?
A few months ago LinkedIn introduced a number of enhancements to synch your LinkedIn presence with your Twitter presence.
- You can add your Twitter handle to your profile description.
- You can synch Tweets and Status Updates, so all messages or some messages get posted at the same time to both sites.
- You can display your Tweets on your profile
- You can display your connections’ Tweets on your home page
The Audience Is Not The Same
As my connections have gotten used to this new functionality, I’ve seen more and more of them posting 100% of their Tweets on LinkedIn. And, I don’t think this is a good trend.
The purpose of the status update function is to communicate and interact with a specific audience or set of contacts and the audience is not the same on both websites.
Let’s use my network as an example. On LinkedIn I have about 600 connections and the majority are colleagues and business contacts. About 400 or close to 70% live near me in the Boston area.
On Twitter, I follow 2,000 people and 1,700 follow me back. I would guess that only about 20% are also LinkedIn connections, while the remainder I’ve met via online networking and they are located across the globe.
These audience groups are vastly different. What about yours?
Habla Twitterease?
Twitter also has its own unique language. Retweeting, sending @replies and recommending who to follow on Fridays, does not apply to your LinkedIn activity.
Job Search & Business Branding
If you happen to be involved in a job search, you should also consider the “social network recruiter” and hiring manager audience. Social network recruiters are recruiters who leverage social networking tools to source and research candidates to fill open positions. Although recruiters do use the “big three”, i.e. LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook… LinkedIn is the most popular and widely used tool.
In addition, a large percentage of hiring managers use LinkedIn to further research candidates. They may have received your resume in response to a specific job posting and now want to learn more.
Therefore, if you are involved in a job search, I recommend that you finely craft your LinkedIn Status Updates to appeal to the recruiter and hiring manager audience. Focus your updates on topics that demonstrate your skills, abilities and professional interests- that align with your job search goals.
Similar advice also applies if you are a salesperson or business owner, that may have prospects or customers researching you on LinkedIn. When they arrive at your profile, you want them to read status updates that reinforce your expertise and build credibility and confidence.
Your Tweets should also demonstrate your skills and abilities, but when you consider Retweets, @replies and followfridays, all of them don’t. (Check out the blog post “Building a Tweet Content Strategy For Your Job Search“.
Different Frequencies
The last issue to consider is the frequency of updates. I update my LinkedIn Status update once per day or every other day while I send three to five tweets per day. Last month one of my LinkedIn Connections messaged me and asked me to take him off the list to get my status updates. I explained that he could change his notifications in LinkedIn Settings – but the point is, even one update a day was too often for him.
If our LinkedIn contacts want to receive continual updates from us, they have the option of following us on Twitter. But, I know that most of my connections don’t use Twitter. So, I do not treat my status updates, like I would a tweet.
Tweeting – LinkedIn Do’s
There are many good things about the integrated functionality. Instead of synching 100% of your tweets and status updates, you can strategically, hand pick specific updates that make sense to post on both sites and apply to both audiences.
And, by displaying your Twitter handle in your profile, you demonstrate that you are “social media savvy” and invite connections and audience members to follow you to learn more.
I also recommend leveraging technology and applications that help you manage all of your status updates with one, easy to use interface. For example, I use Hootsuite and have set up my LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook profiles. With one login, I can send updates to all three websites.
What do you think?
You may also like this article: LinkedIn and Twitter Partnership Do’s and Dont’s For Users on PC World
For more information on Twitter for job hunting, check out the free offer from Tweetajob.com. Sign up for a job seeker account and get a copy of the free ebook, “How To Use Twitter For Your Job Search”. Go to Tweetajob.com.
Copyright February 2010, Marci Reynolds, All Rights Reserved
Richard K. Berger, President – Berkent Legal Services, P.C.