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Telecommuting Website (Part One)"I've heard you talk about building a website to get telecommuting jobs. Can you tell me more about this, and how I would do it?" If you all listen to WAHMTalkRadio.com, then you might have heard me talk about using a website to help you get a work at home job. Basically, what I said was that in this field, you NEED to stand out from the crowd, and you can do this many different ways. One of them is to make a website to showcase you, your skills, experience, portfolio, resume, and more. I started to answer this question, and before I knew it, the answer turned into pages and pages! Instead of overwhelming you with too much to read at one time, I'm going to break this into a two part answer. Why Build a Website? Your main objective is to stand out from the crowd of competition, and this is yet another way to do that. Building your own website shows you're creative, unique, and you are willing to go above and beyond in order to get the job. Think of it this way. You are applying to a job where hundreds of others have applied, too. Now, they won't all be as qualified as you all the time, but let's say 100 are. The employer is sifting through resume after resume; then they come across yours. They click on your link, and it opens up... and there you are! With your picture, bio, resume, and all the other great stuff I'm going tot talk about below. Don't you think that at the very least you would stand out from the crowd? You might not always get the job because of a website, but it can't hurt, and it will make you more noticeable. What to include? Here are my recommendations for your website, but remember, you can do as much or as little on the website as you'd like. The website needs to reflect you, and therefore you can add to it or remove from it what you would like. ;) Your Bio - Include a little bit about yourself, your experience, and your skills. The potential employer can get to know you a little bit right off the bat. Your Picture - Like I've said before, it could just make you feel more real to the employer. Since they can put a face to the name, they might remember you more then someone who just has a resume. Your Voice - Of course, this isn't one of those die hard rules. I enjoy the option of listening to someone's greeting/intro, but I know some aren't comfortable recording their own voices. I do, however, think this is yet another great way to have the employer see you as a real person. Not only can they see your picture, along with your skills and experience, but they could also hear your voice. I use audio on my websites/blogs and newsletters. I find them a great way to communicate and seem more real to my readers Your Resume - This has all the necessary information that the employer will need. Please be sure to spell check your resume, along with the rest of the website. I would also recommend you having the resume done professionally. Think of it as investing into yourself and your future. I've also been told that you can write off a resume on taxes, so keep that in mind. Your Portfolio - If you have one and you're looking for work online, the only place to showcase your portfolio is online. It would be a perfect addition to your website. Your portfolio can be one of two things: it can either be work you've done, or it can be samples of work you can do. Just have fun with it, and be creative.These are just some of my own suggestions. There are many other things you can do, and I'm sure you will come up with some great ideas for your own personal website. The next article in the series I'm gong to talk about how you can get your website out there in front of potential employers. After all, you can build an amazing website, but if you don't know how to get it out there and seen, there's really no point to it. Nell Taliercio is the publisher of a weekly telecommuting newsletter that helps moms and dads work at home. Read more about the newsletter and get your free listing of job links at http://www.telecommutinganswerlady.com |  | | | RELATED ARTICLES The Perfect Resume The perfect resume offers Logical Proofs:    Facts Quantifiable data Logical conclusions Achievement and success statements Relevant professional goals/accomplishments Limits the use of jargon Maximizes use of occupation/industry-specific key words Your capabilities and skills Clear, specific, measurable, and quantifiable words and phrases Sells you based on your achievements to date A Look At Some Out of the Ordinary Jobs What do you want to be when you grow up? 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Use your resume to obtain an interview, not a job. You don't need to go into detail about every accomplishment. Strive to be clear and concise. The purpose of your resume is to generate enough interest in you to have an employer contact you for an interview. Use the interview to provide a more detailed explanation of your accomplishments and to land a job offer. 4. Use bulleted sentences. In the body of your resume, use bullets with short sentences rather than lengthy paragraphs. Resumes are read quickly. This bulleted sentence format makes it easier for someone to quickly scan your resume and still absorb it. 5. Use action words. Action words cause your resume to pop. To add life to your resume, use bulleted sentences that begin with action words like prepared, developed, monitored, and presented.   6. Use #'s, $'s and %'s. Numbers, dollars, and percentages stand out in the body of a resume. Use them. Here are two examples: Managed a department of 10 with a budget of $1,000,000.Increased sales by 25% in a 15-state territory. 7. Lead with your strengths. Since resumes are typically reviewed in 30 seconds, take the time to determine which bullets most strongly support your job search objective. Put those strong points first where they are more apt to be read. 8. Play Match Game. Review want ads for positions that interest you. Use the key words listed in these ads to match them to bullets in your resume. If you have missed any key words, add them to your resume. 9. Use buzzwords. If there are terms that show your competence in a particular field, use them in your resume. For marketing people, use "competitive analysis." For accounting types, use "reconciled accounts."  10. Accent the positive. Leave off negatives and irrelevant points. If you feel your date of graduation will subject you to age discrimination, leave the date off your resume. If you do some duties in your current job that don't support your job search objective, leave them off your resume. Focus on the duties that do support your objective. Leave off irrelevant personal information like your height and weight. 11. Show what you know. Rather than going into depth in one area, use your resume to highlight your breadth of knowledge. Use an interview to provide more detail.   12. Show who you know. If you have reported to someone important such as a vice president or department manager, say so in your resume. Having reported to someone important causes the reader to infer that you are important. 13. Construct your resume to read easily.  Leave white space. Use a font size no smaller than 10 point. Limit the length of your resume to 1-2 pages. Remember, resumes are reviewed quickly. Help the reader to scan your resume efficiently and effectively.  14. Have someone else review your resume. Since you are so close to your situation, it can be difficult for you to hit all your high points and clearly convey all your accomplishments.  Have someone review your job search objective, your resume, and listings of positions that interest you. Encourage them to ask questions. Their questions can help you to discover items you inadvertently left off your resume. Revise your resume to include these items. Their questions can also point to items on your resume that are confusing to the reader. Clarify your resume based on this input.  15. Submit your resume to potential employers. Have the courage to submit your resume. Think of it as a game where your odds of winning increase with every resume you submit. You really do increase your odds with every resume you submit. Use a three-tiered approach. Apply for some jobs that appear to be beneath you. Perhaps they will turn out to be more than they appeared to be once you interview for them. Or perhaps once you have your foot in the door you can learn of other opportunities. Apply for jobs that seem to be just at your level. You will get interviews for some of those jobs. See how each job stacks up. Try for some jobs that seem like a stretch. That's how you grow -- by taking risks. Don't rule yourself out. Trust the process. Good luck in your job search!  Copyright 1999 - 2004 Quest Career Services, LLC. All Rights Reserved. |
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