More and more professionals are using on-line hubs to complement or replace the traditional CV.

The times, they are a… changed.

There are few documents less exciting in this world than CVs. How can one describe them? Informative. Functional. Comprehensive. These are not words that set fire to your imagination.

The traditional Curriculum Vitae is a terribly boring way to get the measure of a person. CVs do, however, all look similar and are therefore a time-efficient way of making quick decisions at the start of a lengthy recruitment process. But do they help people make the right decisions? Employers in increasing numbers don’t think so, and are looking for ways to find out more about potential employees beyond the rigid structure of the traditional resumé.

Jobseekers are being Googled, looked up on Linked In and even Facebook-searched. Sometimes this might be driven by negative reasons but if someone is not going to hire you because of those pictures of you lying on the pavement after the Christmas party then perhaps that wasn’t your dream job anyway. More often, recruiters just want to find out a bit more than can be conveyed on a document. A document so dated in format it’s still commonly known by a latin name.

Take control of your online presence

So if people are looking for you online, doesn’t it make sense for you to be custodian of that information? So change your Facebook status to private, make sure your LinkedIn profile is updated and build yourself a personal profile website.

People in creative industries such as writing and photography have been using websites for this purpose for years as it allows them to showcase their work visually, but it now makes sense for a number of different careers. “We already accept LinkedIn profiles as an alternative to CVs”, explained Liam Reese, recruitment project manager for Unibet, one of the largest European on-line gambling operators, “and I’ve noticed an increase in candidates having their own website in recent years which can work in a person’s favour as it injects some personality into their application.”

What are the advantages?

It suggests that you’re serious about your career. You’ve invested time and possibly money into a resource for people to find out more about you.

It’s easy to maintain and update. With a half-decent website builder you can create it quickly (but don’t rush!) and you can also update it in seconds if you’ve just pickled up a skill or a qualification.

You can express yourself creatively. Although you should be sure that what you’re presenting is relevant to a potential employer, you can give it personal touches – make it attractive and easy to read.

You can include evidence. If you have something to show for your experience you can include it on the site or as a link. A related article you wrote, more information about a certain project, testimonials, or your LinkedIn profile.

You can browse. A website allows the user to navigate to areas they have an interest in without having to read stuff they already know about. Perhaps they want to know more about that project or your personal interests? They can click a navigation link and get straight to what they’re after.

It puts you ahead of the pack. Not everyone’s doing it… yet.

 Tips and advice

The single-page test. Does it fit nicely and tastefully onto one page or do you need pages? If you need pages, it’s too long. Simple.

Wait until you’re ready. Don’t start telling people about it until you’re sure it sells you. This sounds obvious but spelling mistakes and holding pages aren’t going to open any doors for you.

Make contact details easy to see. Don’t make anyone look too hard for your mobile number and email address.

Keep it up-to-date. Once it’s out there, you just don’t know when it might be looked at – opportunity often arrives at times you can’t predict.

Think about your audience. Make it easy for people to find what they’re looking for – don’t include stuff that only you’re interested in. With all communication, you should always ask yourself – what am I hoping to achieve? If you don’t know the answer, leave it out.

Sell yourself. Your website should sell you while remaining true to the real you.

Have your own URL. Having a website is great, but owning your own domain is the next level. Remember when we said it looks like you take your career seriously – this is the icing on the cake.

Cindr is a super-simple single page website builder. Try it for free.