Why would I create my own website? Aren’t those just for businesses or companies?
This was my thought process when approached with the idea of creating my own website 6 months ago. I never thought about creating my own personal website, because well.. Why should I? Everything potential employers would want or need to know about me would be available through just my resume or LinkedIn right?
Boy was I wrong! Personal websites are all about personal branding and creating a 3-dimensional person which goes beyond an 8 1/2 by 11 overly worded resume. As a multifaceted creative who finds comfort in aesthetically pleasing mood boards, dabbles in art across all mediums and a free spirited writer, I realized a personal website is exactly what I needed to promote my own brand as a soon to be college graduate and about to embark on the professional world. If my whole spiel wasn’t enough to convince you to make your own website here are 4 reasons to make one asap!
1. Creative Way To Promote Yourself
Have you ever felt that your resume isn’t a representation of who you are? A personal website might be the perfect solution to this problem. Not only do you get to exercise creativity in making your website into something that represents you at your core, but you also get to showcase your own passion projects which may not be able to fit onto that one-dimensional resume. The beauty of making your own website is that you get to put anything and everything you want onto it. Your ceramic mug you hand spun in high school that won a prize? Put it on the website. Your painting you made during quarantine just because you were bored? Put it on the website. The journals you made during your college study abroad trip? Put it on the website! There truly is no limit and these passion projects are an important part in defining who you are and what you stand for. In short, personal websites are a creative way to control your image to the outside world and frame you as a well-rounded holistic 3-dimensional being with a unique story to tell.
2. Increase Your Chances of Getting a Job
One of the main motivations I had in creating my own website was to make myself look more appealing to employers. Where I lacked in work experience, I made up for it by sharing what I was passionate about and volunteer experience to show my future boss that I am fit for the job because I am more than just what is written on paper. Creating your own website increases your credibility as it shows you have taken the time to develop your own personal brand to showcase who you are. In addition recruiters will now be able to search you in their Google search engines and pull up everything they need to know about you all in one place making it easier and faster for employers to choose whether or not you would be a good fit for their company. Lastly, after speaking to a marketing recruiter professional, they stated it was a turn off if someone who hopes to go into branding, marketing, journalism and other communication fields, did not have a personal website. So long story short, take some time out of your day to make a website and your hard work will pay off!
3. Develop New Skills
Actually creating your own website is no walk in the park. It is time-consuming, frustrating and confusing most of the time. That being said there are some great website building sites to help you create your own. These include: Wix, Squarespace, WordPress and GoDaddy. There definitely is somewhat of a learning curve, but platforms such as Wix make it easy to drag and drop templates and then fill in your own information. Throughout the entire process you develop new skills and begin to see a blank screen transform into something you are proud of. Because not many people take the time to build their own websites, these skills are crucial in depicting to employers that you took time out of your day to learn new things and create a polished product.
4. Boost Your Confidence
Finally, I would recommend building your own personal website because it is a huge confidence booster. I procrastinated making a LinkedIn and cringed every time I had to show someone my resume because I didn’t have a lot of work experience and frankly, I had no idea what to do in terms of cover letters and resumes in general. Once I created my own website I realized I am so much more than my resume and my LinkedIn. My art pieces, journal entries and school projects which I am proud of are all things I can add to my website to showcase who I am. After clicking through my finished website I was so incredibly proud of all the things I had accomplished!
So go right now and start making your own website! Add personal anecdotes and stories, school projects you spent days on, photographs you took while traveling, passion projects you did to cope with boredom during quarantine or examples of your work you have done for other companies and just have fun with it. It doesn’t have to be perfect and guaranteed you will end up updating or changing various parts of it as you get older but in the meantime it’s a perfect start to building your own personal brand and becoming your own boss.
My personal website: www.leighxiaoxing.com coming soon!