How Building a Professional Website Changed My Perspective of Myself
When you’re in college, you’re surrounded by people who are striving to find a way to differentiate themselves. We spend (maybe) four years doing everything we can to snag the best internships and full-time offers we can.
And how do we try to stand out? By building the best resume? After all, that is often what we have to show for all of our hard work and what our advisors teach us.
In the same way that a picture is worth a thousand words, a professional web portfolio is like giving them a tell-all novel on what you’re capable of!
It wasn’t until I created my own professional website that I truly understood the ways in which I stood out amongst my peers. I was able to communicate to potential employers why I was the right candidate for a job which helped me to take myself more seriously and see my own potential. In the same way that a picture is worth a thousand words, a professional web portfolio is like giving them a tell-all novel on what you’re capable of!
At Major League Hacking, one of our core values is “Learn. Build. Share.” so in true MLH fashion, I’m going to tell you what I learned, what I built, and share that with all of you lovely people.
1. Snag Your Domain Name ASAP!!!!
I am fortunate enough that my older brother saw the benefit of buying EmilyAkers.com for me years before I ever did. It looked more like an obituary than a portfolio for the first few years, but I have it in good shape now and that’s what counts! Going into my junior year, I knew it was game time for those last few meaningful internships that would help with finding a full-time job and I didn’t want future employers seeing my old acting headshot and a line about where I went to high school.
Snagging a great, professional domain name early is an investment that will pay off for the rest of your life. For instance, you could get yourname.tech as your online address. It not only has your name but also communicates your passion and the industry you belong to! While Instagram, Facebook, and Github will be great places to learn about one aspect of your life, your website will become the prime destination to learn about ALL things you. Our friends at Domain.com make it easy to search for a great domain on .TECH and you can even get it for free by attending a hackathon this season.
2. Your Resume, But Better!
Your website is a place where people can learn all the things about you that you couldn’t fit on your resume. Potential employers could find out about how you learned to code, what you did and learned at your internships, and how you have grown into who you are today. It also gives employers the opportunity to get to know your voice and personality. Do you like to incorporate puns? Are you passionate about a specific coding language or area of technology? All of these small things help give the world insight into who you are and why you’re special.
3. Showcase Your Work
Your website is a great place to show off your favorite projects from hackathons, side projects, internships, or classes. If you’re proud of it, then put it up there! People learn way more about what you are capable of when you show rather than tell, like you do on a resume. While my portfolio is broken up into videography, photography, events, etc, yours may look like C++, Swift, Python, etc. Put up what you are proud of and tell us what we should be looking for. What is unique about this? Why is it impressive? For companies, seeing these examples will help them to envision what you could help their company build and is a great reminder of all of your outstanding achievements.
4. Your Website. Your Story
Part of what I love about my website is I am more than just a list of projects and internships. These are just part of my story. My website helps to tell my own personal and professional narrative. Often when I submitted resumes, I used the role I was applying for to dictate which jobs, projects, and internships I would show. With my website, people get to see a more well-rounded and honest snapshot of who I am, what I have done, and where I aim to be. This can be shown in the photos I choose, the style of the website (everything from layout to fonts to colors), and the language I use. I truly believe this helps companies to see if I would be a good fit for them as well as if it would be a good fit for me. And the best part, it’s all 100% me!
At the end of the day, what you do with your professional website is up to you. For me, it helped me to recognize all of the incredible things I had done in recent years and what I had to offer to companies. It became an invaluable marketing tool for me. I put my domain on everything from business cards to my Linkedin to my Facebook. Basically, if you’re looking to do recon on me, it’s the place to go and the best part: I got to choose everything that is on it. When I walked into the networking event, I felt more confident than ever in my abilities and that feeling has only continued to grow as I’ve taken on more responsibility in my roles and grown as a professional.
While it can be intimidating to take that first step towards building the professional version of yourself, it will definitely pay off both in the workplace as well as your personal one. I encourage all of you to invest your time and energy into yourself because if you don’t, who will? Grab your domain at Domain.com and get crackin’!