5 tips for building your personal website

As the job hunting process becomes increasingly digital, it's important for professionals to have a strong online presence. One surefire way to impress recruiters who may search for you on the Web is to have a strong personal website.

A study from Workfolio showed that 56 percent of hiring managers are impressed when candidate's have personal websites, yet just 7 percent of job seekers have this branding tool. If you want to stand out from the pack, use these five tips to create a professional website to showcase your talents.

1. Get help with design
Have you ever seen a website that's so poorly designed it makes you cringe? Don't let your personal site become one of these train wrecks. If you've never worked with HTML and have no idea how content management systems operate, it's best to ask for help with site design. You don't have to pay a professional - ask a tech-savvy friend or relative to lend a hand. Once the basic site has been designed, you can create the content and easily push it live.

2. Build out a portfolio
If you're pursuing a career in a visual field or have projects that you worked on as an intern, you'll likely benefit from including your portfolio on your personal website. This gives potential employers something to look at beyond your resume and adds an element of visual interest to the site.

Be sure to use high-quality pictures of your work, include links to the live version of the project and write a short description of the project and your role.

3. Detail your skills
Entry-level workers may not have a whole lot to display on their personal websites, but you can make your resume page look more populated with a skills section. Chances are that you have experience and talents that didn't fit on your one-page resume, but you can include these extra skills on your website. Break it down into digital talents like social media, SEO, blogging and office skills like word processing and public speaking.

4. Don't forget contact info
All websites need a contact page, and your personal site is no exception. After all, it would be a bit counterintuitive to attract employers to your page, then not give them any way to get in touch with you. If you use a pre-made contact page, be sure to update the backend so queries are sent to your personal email address.

5. Update it frequently
Some people are content to let their websites be static pages with basic information, and that's fine. However, you should be sure to keep the information on your personal website up to date. Revisit your resume and experience often and be sure to update contact info.

If you want to add an extra level of interest to your site, you can set up a blog and post thought-leadership pieces that are relevant to your industry. This will give viewers more insight into your capabilities while simultaneously boosting SEO.

This content brought to you by the Marketing Team at Beacon Hill Staffing Group.