Your online image is quite a sensitive aspect and should thus be protected, lest it ruins your credibility. For example, there might be those awful Facebook pictures you posted a while back and maybe your family members came across them. This probably changed their perception of you for the worse. It’s unfortunate especially considering that the internet doesn’t forget and thus once anything is online, there’s little you can do to amend it.

It is for this same reason that when one decides to look for employment, more often than not, potential employers look at their online profile to help them understand the individual based on what they see posted by them online. The good news though is that one can control their online information using a personal website.

Nothing beats a website when it comes to promoting a brand. For instance, back in 2006, a brand like GoDaddy used to record only about 100,000 unique visits in a day- that traffic mainly came from the USA. Currently, the same website has multiplied that number by about 10 times and now records over a million unique hits daily and with a more global presence. Its customer base is now spread in more than 37 countries around the world. All these achievements are as a result of using the GoDaddy website.

A personal website does not have to be a preserve of the big corporates only. Owning a website can help you promote a new project, sell your CV, or even help you connect with others online.

A Website Even Beats LinkedIn

LinkedIn is a truly effective tool you can use to promote yourself and your skills. However, with a personal site, you are not limited to the number of documents, photos, videos and slides that you can attach as is the case with LinkedIn. With a personal website, you can attach customer testimonials, and this will be a great selling point for you. With LinkedIn, there’s always an unmet need for contractors because they cannot include customer testimonials on their LinkedIn profile. But with a personalized website that comes with enough storage space, it is all possible. Therefore, make use of a customized website to sell your CV more.

Advantages of a Personal Website

Hiring managers all over the world are on the lookout for people with personal websites. They give a complete picture of who you are just by the click of a button. Therefore, personal websites are the best branding tools that will get you hired fast. A personal website often offers professional information about you, experience, and also shows your personality at a glance. But there is a worrying trend in that only 10% of job applicants in the world have personalized websites.

1. Personal Website Gives You Freedom

• It helps you customize everything, from colors to imagery and layout. Hiring managers are of the opinion that, if someone can have the effort to create their own website, then it shows the seriousness they have towards their career and opportunity for growth.
• These personalized sites store all the information regarding your job history, accomplishments, education and hobbies. Particularly on the bit where customers give feedback over the long haul, archiving that kind of information is important. Safe storage of videos is a difficult task especially when you are looking at many years to come. Therefore, with a personalized website, it is a plus.
• There are those that run a business and at the same time looking for employment. A customized website solves this issue because it eases confusion that both employers and clients may be experiencing to learn about you.

2. Custom Domain Name

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• A customized website gives you a custom domain name. The domain name makes it easier for you to be found online. Therefore, chances of getting hired or getting more business are much higher. Hiring managers often use Bing or Google to search for information. If the personalized website’s domain name is your name, then the first search results that will come up will most likely be your site.
• What about those instances when someone has already had a website that has their domain name as yours? There are several options where you could make your personal website visible. For instance, if you are a lawyer, you could use your “name.lawyer”. Many domain extensions are coming up every day.

3. Building a Personalized Website

• There are many websites making tools provided by service providers like Godaddy Website Builder and Managed WordPress. There are those who prefer to use the services of web designers. They are talented and have the time to create your personalized website.
• Personalized websites can be accessed on portable gadgets such as the iPads and smartphones. These sort of accessibility will make you have even more visitors to your personalized site.

Tips For Attracting Hiring Managers to Your Website

• It is imperative to include a brief introduction of yourself in your personalized website. A biography helps the hiring managers get a hint of who you are as a person. It is also important to include a short history detailing the jobs you have undertaken in the past. Latest projects that you have undertaken should as well be mentioned on your personal website. It is paramount to keep up to date information about testimonials from clients, the publications you have written, and a chronology of awards you have received.
• It is also always important to maintain a neutral tone and keep off from divisive issues such as politics and religion. It is always important to keep the hiring managers yearning for more information. Therefore, it is paramount not to give detailed information about yourself. But always remember to include contact details on every web page. For instance, telephone, email address and social media profiles.
• Make the presence of your personalized website to be felt. Make sure that all your business cards, resume, email signature and LinkedIn profiles bear your personalized site. This is a selling point for you because you might just be the person that a certain organization is looking.

Conclusion

Building a personalized website may seem hard at the beginning, but once you do it and reap the benefits, it becomes interesting. Considering the numerous resources found online today regarding how to set up a website, you might decide to do it yourself and save. However, if you feel that you are not up to the task, feel free to hire a web designer to help you come up with a more professional personal website.