How to Build a Professional Landing Page Online (And Why You Should!)

Posted on Thursday, September 28th, 2017

Job hunting is a highly competitive world, and finding a way to stand out can be a challenge. It’s important to know how to write a strong cover letter, or interview well. But to really stand out to employers, you need to represent yourself in a positive way—you want to build a positive reputation that follows you. This is called branding, and we’ve talked about why it’s so important before.

Think of branding as advocating for yourself—you’re telling your target audience (in this case, employers) about why you’re a great hire. All aspects of your job hunt—from your resume to your interview to your LinkedIn—should be in line with your brand.

But to take your brand to the next level, at least online, you need to go a step further than the regular job hunt materials. You need to build a website.

Why You Need an Online Landing Page

A personal website—ideally yourname.com—will definitely take your personal branding up a level. It will give you a landing spot online, where you can compile your portfolio, resume, links to social media, and anything else pertinent. Having these items in one spot that’s easy to navigate will make life easier for potential employers. It also makes you look super professional.

You can build yourself a personal website in a few hours—there are dozens of tutorials online on how to do it. But, to make your life really easy, you should start with a simple landing page.

A landing page is a single-paged site that has your important information and contact methods right there. It’s clean, simple, and super professional.

How to Build a Landing Page on about.me

The easiest way we’ve found to build a landing page is to use about.me. All you’ll need is an hour and some key information about yourself to get started.

Make an Account

To get started, head to https://about.me/ and click on ‘Get Started For Free’ in the top right-hand corner. A window will pop up asking for your email, then your name. Be sure to give your real name—remember, this is how employers will find you.

You will then be asked to upload a photo. We really recommend using the same photo from your LinkedIn—remember, consistency is the key to successful branding. Use a professional, well-lit, and friendly photo of yourself.

The next screen will ask for your location—be sure to be honest, as this will help target employers. Then click next.

You will then be asked to choose your interests. This is important for targeting, as well. Choose words that are related to your field of study.

Next, you’ll be asked about what you do. You may be tempted to enter ‘Student’, but don’t do this. Instead, choose what job you’re aspiring to—in this case, we’ve chosen Web Developer. You’ll have an opportunity later to show that you’re a student.

Though you have the option to, don’t choose your hobbies in this step. Remember, think about who you’re targeting—in this case, employers. So only choose titles associated with the kind of work you do.

Now you’re asked what you want people to do on your page. For job seekers, there are two main options—view your portfolio, or hire you. For this example, we’re going to choose ‘Hire Me’.

On the next screen, you will need to choose your design. Remember, the key part of a landing page is that it is simple, so choose whichever of the three options you think best displays your information. On the next screen, choose a colour (remember to keep it professional), and click next.

Now comes the decision part. You will be given the option to buy your domain name (and you’ll likely have better options than this screenshot, since we used the name Jane Doe for this demonstration).

You should purchase yourname.com if you can. It’s a good thing to own, and will ensure that that result comes up if employers google you. Whether you want to tie that address to your about.me page is your own decision, but if you plan on building a full website in the future, you may want to keep it open for that.

We’re going to proceed with the free option, but if you do choose to buy yourname.com, about.me will walk you through the process.

Now you need a web address. Try to get about.me/yourname if it’s available. Remember, you want this to be as simple as possible. If it’s not available, the next easiest variable will work.

Now, come up with a password, and click ‘Show Me My Page’!

And what you get is…a pretty plain page. It’s time to fill out some information.

In the top right-hand corner, you will find a little gear icon beside your name. Click on that to bring up all the optional components for your landing page.

Explore these components to see what’s applicable for you. You should definitely include a bio that echoes the language on your LinkedIn and cover letters—remember, consistency is important!

Under ‘Details’, you can add social links. Add your LinkedIn, portfolio, Twitter, and any other professional presence you maintain online.

Once you’ve got a page that you’re proud of, share it! Add links to it on your social media, and even consider putting it on your resume. It’ll look great to employers, and will keep your personal branding on point.

 

If you would like to learn more about the Algonquin College co-op program, please visit our website at https://www.algonquincollege.com/coop/, connect with us at coop@algonquincollege.com or call us at 613-727-4723 Ext.7623. You can also follow us on Twitter @AlgonquinCoop.

 


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