Monday, December 11, 2006

"Send us a resume and URL"

Yesterday I found myself in the company of uncles who went on again talking about politics and 'back home' stuff. I decided to pick up the newspaper and shift through for anything interesting. In the "Money & Careers" section I came across an article:

Send us a resume and URL:
Searching for a job? A positive online identity could be your key to getting hired


I figured its a good idea to outline this article here for I believe its of benefit to all.

A lot of us have go online and fool around, as a result we may have a persona on the internet that is not very suitable in a professional environment. Employers will search the internet for any 'Digital Dirt' you may have.

A good idea is to create a website inlcuding:
  • your resume
  • personal bio
  • photos depicting you as professiona - yet somone who would be fun to work with

Look at your online profile:
  • Find any and all dirt that may be out there and clean it up.
  • Look yourself on google, yahoo, youtube, myspace and ask, "how professional does this look?"
  • Be proactive in developing you own identity or brand online.
  • Revamp your MySpace, Hi5, Facebook, etc profiles so when a employer looks (they do) you up they see something that is good and likable.

Career Portfolio on the Web:
  • Portfolio can serve "as your storefront - and you're what's up for sale"
  • People finding you online many times makes a decision on whether or not to hire you.
  • Such available information has made the resume less important, but not obsolete.
  • Resume is one dimensional, while an "efolio" gives a more dynamic impression
  • recruiters are jumping to online search engines and social networking places to find out who you really are.

Blogs and resumes
  • Make your profiles and blog such that they are attractive to employers.
  • If you don't have one, then make one.
  • Include an "About" page, "Strengths" page, and a "Volunteer Projects"
  • Have a page with "Testimonials from co-workers"

Best foot forward on your site
  • In your portfolio highlight your most "stunning work" | don't put old dated stuff which can turn recruiters off.
  • Entire website much be coherent and professional, not just the page with your work projects.
  • Consider writing a professional blog first, instead of a web portfolio. Update it regularly.
  • Setup a Google alert that will notify you each time a name that matches yours is mentioned on the web -- -- -- I don't know how to do that. Someone wanna shed some light on that?
  • When listing your email address for ".", "@" use "DOT", and "AT" so keep away spammers.
  • Sift out skills, interests and accomplishments that would not be a good match.

Personal Feedback

For the past couple weeks I had been pondering as to whether or not I should create an efolio which includes all my creative stuff from video (www.empfilms.net), graphic design, and photography.

I'm gonna add this to my actions list once I get back from hajj inshaAllah :-)

posted by AlBaraa @ 12/11/2006 08:35:00 AM 4 comments