For young professionals, launching personal portfolio websites is one of the best things to do for their careers. While this might seem like a big endeavour, this is an easy task that will make a huge difference in your professional ambitions. No matter where you are in your career or your degree, set aside the time to put your profile online. Whether you have a hundred work samples or just a few projects done for class, it’s time to get started to showcase what you can do to possible employers and recruiters. Once you launch your personal portfolio website, the opportunities are endless.
Depending on your interests and career field, your portfolio will look slightly different from that of your peers.
While there are innumerable benefits to launching your online portfolio and personal website page, a few stand out from the rest. These benefits might be exactly what you’re looking for if you’re in the middle of a job hunt, are nearing your graduation, or are considering a competitive career where your existing skills and talents will be vital for future success.
So, why should you choose to make a personal portfolio website to send to recruiters on top of your updated CV/resume and your LinkedIn profile?
It enables you to:
No matter your academic background, showcasing your soft and hard skills is essential. From a history major with killer writing and researching skills to an architecture major with impressive sketching abilities, everyone has content to fill their personal portfolio website. The first step to building a portfolio is identifying exactly what your most valuable skills are, in addition to your biggest interests and passions. Remember, your portfolio doesn’t necessarily have to reflect your degree or coursework. However, it should reflect how you see yourself and showcase some of your best work to date and how they relate to your career goals. Ideally, it will also tell people slightly more about you than they might find on your LinkedIn profile to provide a personal element to your application.
Additionally, your online portfolio gives potential employers something tangible to consider when reviewing your application. While all great applicants have the marks and the experience to be a good fit for a company, your portfolio will show them exactly what you can contribute, and help them get to know you better, including whether you would be a good fit for the team culturally as well as professionally to facilitate a good working relationship with the rest of the employees.
Personal portfolio websites are a perfect way to add a bit of personalization to a job application to help it stand out from the basic and the norm, making you a more memorable applicant. While all applicants are likely to have a stellar CV and a solid recommendation from previous managers, teachers and lecturers, or from a host organization if they've done an internship, a dedicated portfolio sets you apart. Additionally, this portfolio is a great way to demonstrate your personality and extracurricular interests and to showcase your creative side. If you’re applying through a web form, or the application only allows for a CV and cover letter, you’ll get to include a little something extra. The link to your stellar personal portfolio website might be the thing that makes you stick out as someone who has gone the extra mile.
As you continue to grow as a young professional and expand further into your career, personal branding becomes essential. With an online portfolio, blog, or website, you are effectively building the basis of your personal, professional brand online to make you recognizable in your career field. This site will be the first thing someone sees when they Google your name and will dictate their first virtual impression of you as a person and a possible employee. Do you want to brand yourself as a travel writer? Or maybe your degree is in mechanical engineering but you’re passionate about sustainable energy. Your online brand is the best tool to help you break into a new field and will be extremely effective in driving your career forward as someone who knows their chosen field inside and out!