CMU School of Drama


Wednesday, January 25, 2017

What Should You Include on Your Personal Resume Website?

business.tutsplus.com: Whether you are a fresh college graduate, a seasoned manager looking for a new position, or a freelancer wanting to land your first few clients, there is one thing you must have: a great personal resume website. Aside from highlighting your skills, a personal website will help you get noticed and stand out online.

7 comments:

Annie Scheuermann said...

This is this weeks article about good industry life tricks. I was interested because I don't have a personal website and as I have been applying to internships many have said to include a link to your website if you had one. Honestly, I didn't think Managers needed a website, that was more for designers, and I do still think that designers need one more than managers, but I do understand why it is good to have a personal website. The article had some good new information that I didn't think about, like having testimonials, which can really be more helpful than just a list of references. The examples they showed were helpful, but I do think their is a similarity that runs through them, a big picture with some bold words, a picture of the person and a statement. They all look nice, and are different but made up of the same things, whether or not that good, its just noticeable. I think this article does hit on some good points about social media. Most people have multiple social media accounts, and I know that whenever I work with someone I don't know, thats the first thing I do - look them up on Facebook. Thinking about it now, it's interesting because a few years ago Facebook was just flooded with personal sharing of family, interest, accomplishments, events etc, now its really being used for a public platform of opinion, again not a good or bad thing, just whats its become. I'm interested to see if checking peoples social media accounts has the same influence on jobs as it has had in the past.

Marisa Rinchiuso said...

I thought this was a super nifty article! I often wondered what to include on a website. In high school we had to create a Weebly website for computer class, but now it is just hanging out in the ether. I've often wondered what to include and now I found answers! The one thing I did not expect to see is the mention of keeping a blog associated with your website. I think that is a very creative and helpful additive. I think seeing someone's blog allows you to get a sneak preview of their work style and their opinions on popular topics. One of the suggestions I was not sure about was the testimonials. When operating backstage and in a corporate environment, I don't know when there is formal commentary on your work. For example, Broadwayworld will often review regional productions, but never do they mention the stage manager or designers, unless they are a "star name". Overall, I thought the article was useful to our day to day lives.

Sabrina Browne said...

This was a really helpful article. In PTM we talked with Molly last semester about resumes and cover letters briefly, and it's basically what I've been thinking about ever since. Sometimes I have a hard time distinguishing what employers care about and don't care about (what makes me look good or bad). I think having a website style resume is a really accessible way to provide lots of information to many employers at once. Plus as an added bonus, there's no need to print out resumes and cover letters (green always helps). This article also helped with the specifics. Not only did it say what should be there, but what it should be. For example, the article recommends having a short bio about yourself, and also suggests what should be included. This is a HUGE help for me because I never know what to say about myself and just end up feeling like I'm bragging. I also think a website is a particular smart choice for artists because just the layout of your website alone can speak to your style or aesthetics (looks matter in art!)

Tahirah Agbamuche said...

Wow, this is a really interesting article. It is always enjoy the ”practical use” articles on the blog. It is also particularly good timing since it is internship application/ graduating season. It is also interesting how resume building has transferred over to digital platforms. I wonder if this will put the folder resume holder in danger. Like Sabrina said above, we only had a brief little session on resume building. This article has got me thinking about that class and wondering if there would be a possibility it could be extended. Even this article is a little short. A mini of a mini in resume building would be nice. Maybe coupled with interview etiquette/dress, and a mock interview. I am not sure if this is coming in later teaching. However, this article is succinct and covers all the basic points. I certainly will be comparing this to my current resume. Now that I am in college, resume building is a continuous job so this is nice to know.

Sarah Boyle said...

I concur with the earlier commenters that any resume building tips are extremely helpful because it is so important and so intimidating. The website in particular is something I don’t really understand the professional guild lines for, but which makes a lot of sense for adding photos of work that don’t fit on the main resume. I had never considered the idea of testimonials, as the article suggested, but I suppose it’s like having letters of reference. Also, having a downloadable version of your resume on the site is a great idea. While I liked being able to see how artsy graphic designers set up their websites, I would also be interested in seeing more website tips specifically for theater, to try and get a better idea of how to sort their work (like by type, or production, or chronologically, or some combination). Or even how many examples of past work should one aim to be adding.

John Yoerger said...

I think this is a fantastic article. (I even bookmarked it!) and again agree with all of the other commenters that there is some great stuff here. One thing that I think is very interesting about the "website" as a resume is the ease of access for anyone looking for you... But a big change I see from the traditional resume is that instead of selling yourself in person, you are selling yourself online too. It is interesting to think about. I call upon the example of the website that has the freelance writer "as seen on" and then also has "hear what people have to say about me"... This is interesting as I have a website that isn't published but I've worked on and the article has given me some things to think about that instead of just taking a "present this information about me" approach I need to rather sell myself as a designer/manager/whatever, etc. So I am excited to get back to work on this and brainstorm more about how I can do just that.

Unknown said...

This article highlights the importance of personal branding and taking the extra step to make yourself stand out. A solid professional resume is always going to be the most important factor, but a bomb design will instantly catch someone’s attention. It shows effort, creativity, and originality.

I used to have to sort through resumes when I worked in an office, and the ones that stuck out to me immediately were the people who had a good sense of design and “user experience” of reading their resume. If you’re going to use a website/online platform to advertise yourself, it’s got to be simple to navigate and easy to read. I should note that there is a point where something can be overdesigned (i.e. neon paint splatters on the corners, a poor choice).

Some people might argue that they don’t have the computer tools/skills to do projects like this but with the templates and services available online (Creative Market, Squarespace, WordPress, etc), there’s no excuse for having a lackluster resume/portfolio.