Those days are gone when we used to pass our business cards to someone, and they would keep them in their contact list. In the world of Outlook and e-mails, it is required to have your online portfolio. Some people won’t feel comfortable putting themselves out in the public, but those people will be at a disadvantage in their job search due to the competition. Thus, I would recommend everyone to have their online portfolio. And following are few tips to create it…….
Use free services: When I recommended my friend to create his online portfolio, he told me that it’s a waste of money. Well…… You don’t have to spend any money on your online portfolio at all. You can use various free services like Windows Blog, Google Blogs, WordPress, etc. These free services will let you create your blog for no cost, and then you can add different pages to your blogs. For example: A page to demonstrate your work experience, a page to demonstrate your references, and a page to provide a way for other people to contact you.
Include your contact details: Most of the people will refrain of putting their personal information out on web, while other people don’t have any issues with that. If you are one of those people, who don’t feel comfortable sharing your personal information on your website (or blog), then you can create a form for someone to contact you or create an another e-mail account through free services of Gmail or Yahoo, and put that e-mail address as your contact information. In this way, your personal information won’t be compromised and your contacts have a way to reach you.
Include your work experience: If you are looking for a job, then this added page is a must in your portfolio. This page can basically act as your resume, which can be searched online. Make sure to be as detailed as possible. Unlike your resume, which should be of certain size, you can provide as much information as you want on this page. So, why not make the best use out of it? Let’s say that on an airplane or at a social function you happen to strike up a conversation with someone for whom you might like to work. To get this person more interested in you, rather than just give her a business card and probably never get a call, you could also give her a Web site address for your portfolio. And with this ‘work experience’ page on your website, they can get more information about your experience before talking to you the next time.
Include your references: Let’s say, you are a contractor/consultant then this page becomes very critical for your portfolio. Of course, you need to take permission from your references to put their name on your website as your reference, but it is worth it. Imagine, if you were called for an interview and the person interviewing you asks for your references. In that situation, you can just point him to your online portfolio and lead him to think that you are some kind of a genius who came well prepared. If you have already few recommendations on your LinkedIn then you can either copy paste those there or provide a link for people on your ‘reference’ page to go to your LinkedIn account.
I hope these tips will help you to create a better online presence for yourself, while protecting your privacy. If you have any other ideas through which a person can enhance his/her online image, then please feel free to share it on my blog through your comments. Thanks. – Bhavin Gandhi
Bhavin Gandhi's Blog 
resumebetter
March 28, 2012 at 7:01 AM
Great advice!
And you’re right, with the job seekers using technology more and more, an online presence is a must. And you can certainly limit the amount of personal information you reveal. I tell people they don’t always need their physical address on their resumes any more–who’s going to mail them a letter?
Keep up the great work!
Roger
Bhavin Gandhi
March 28, 2012 at 4:42 PM
@ResumeBetter: Thanks for reading my blog and providing your feedback.
While I agree with your argument of not putting the physical address on your resume, I think that sometimes it is necessary to do so. Some of the smaller companies are looking for only local candidates to reduce their hiring budget. Thus, providing your city on your resume would be the key element in the hiring decision.
Hence, if you are thinking of getting a local job in your city, you would be better off by putting at least your city’s name.
Thanks – Bhavin Gandhi
resumebetter
March 28, 2012 at 4:49 PM
You are absolutely right!
AND, I realized that if the company is using an automated tracking system (ATS), then candidates will sometimes be rejected because they lack an address.
So, I stand corrected!
Thanks for the corrections!
Roger
Bhavin Gandhi
March 29, 2012 at 10:28 AM
@ResumeBetter: Well, I didn’t want to correct you as such. But with current economic situations, many employers are somehow hiring only local candidates. Maybe to save relocation costs.
Thanks for your comments ResumeBetter. I hope, this blog was helpful.
Thanks – Bhavin Gandhi
resumebetter
March 29, 2012 at 6:51 PM
Very helpful!
I look forward to future blogs.
Sincerely,
Roger
Linda Tuerk
March 20, 2014 at 8:34 PM
Don’t give so much info that unethical recruiters can construct a resume and send it out to hundreds of clients. The duplication (and worse) has been huge. And when you go to apply yourself, they will pass. No one wants a fee battle.
Bhavin Gandhi
March 28, 2014 at 7:31 PM
@Linda: Thanks for your feedback. I was unaware that people use other people’s fake profile to spam the system. But it is always a good thing to get other people’s opinion. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.