I'm not being very entertaining today because I'm working on my portfolio. I had started on it (and in fact HAD finished a sound-bite version to accompany my brochure style resume), but I was working on it in a very off-hand way (see, I really didn't think I was going to get any interviews anytime soon), so it wasn't done for my interview on Monday. I thought it would be an informal chat, but it really wasn't. I'm very glad I had the sound-bite version, but I really needed a fuller one to point to when I was describing something. I learned my lesson, and am cranking out one now to have for tomorrow's interview (settle down, people, none of these have imminent jobs attached to them). It's actually kind of fun, now that I have better pictures of some of my projects.
I also had a nice networking breakfast, where I met a very positive and outgoing woman who really helped me feel more on track with what I'm doing. Our next networking breakfast is at the end of the month, so that really gives me a deadline by which to finish my professional website. (One of the things that came up several times during the breakfast was the importance of websites.) It's good to get bumped out of the rut!
6 comments:
Good luck with everything. I needed a kick to work on my job search stuff too (luckily for me, I only needed a resume. I can't imagine having to back that up with brochures and web pages. Very impressive).
I'll be newly unemployed come June 30 myself, so the idea of a personal website is a good one. Tips or suggestions on what would be most useful on such a site?
Welcome, Charley.
It really depends on your field. Your skills and your accomplishments would be on the top of the list. Contact information would be good too.
Anyone else have suggestions?
Where would you like me to start on website design? ;)
Contact information, right up front. Don't make people search if they want to call/e-mail you.
Website name. Make it either related to your name or somewhat professional sounding. Reusing "ilikehooters.com" is not going to cut it if you want a job.
E-mail address. Again use something professional or related to your name. Making a prospective employer reach you at fluffy_bunnykins_2006@hotmail.com is not going to thrill them.
Addendum, don't use hotmail account.
Minimal is better for a website. Black and white for the text. Minimal colors. Giving people a seizure when they look at painful color combination and flashing text is not going to help you.
Stick with a common sans-serif font, preferably Verdana or Arial. Yes, they're boring, but they're also easily legible.
Avoid animation.
Minimize the number of images in your main/splash page. Place the majority of your images on a page that is labeled as such, especially if you have an image intensive portfolio.
Your main/front page should be a single screen, no more.
Links to other pages in your site should be obvious, and probably in more than one place.
Check your page in MORE THAN ONE BROWSER. Preferably Firefox and Safari. Make sure your page works in IE, but design using Firefox or Safari.
I can go on, but I've got things to do. :)
My thanks for the comments and suggestions regarding professional websites. I suppose it is time to make sure I come up clean in a Google search as well.
Ah, things to do, things to do!
Thanks, Michelle!
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