Where and why to post your resume or portfolio online in only a few clicks.

This is a guest post by Obreanna McReynolds.

In today’s competitive job market, standing out from the crowd has become more important, and more difficult, than ever. As desperate as many job seekers may feel, employers are just as eager to find that one superstar hire buried in the thick stack of cover letters and resumes. Luckily for both parties, the tools for building a polished, marketable and most importantly hirable personal brand have exploded in recent years thanks to the rapid expansion of online networking technologies.

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3 benefits to virtual resumes

Like any resume, the virtual version conveys an applicant’s qualifications, strengths, and work history. However, there are several added perks:

1) Customizable Templates

Many sites offer free hosting and provide customizable templates. Rather than going through the hassle of mailing a physical CV or formatting a document for email, a job seeker can connect with potential employers instantly simply by sending a link to the resume they’ve created online. Virtual resumes can be updated in real-time, giving employers access to the most up-to-date information possible, be it a link to a new web publication or information about a recent achievement.

2) Employer Access

Many host sites allow companies to search the resume database for candidates with desirable traits, a process that streamlines the hiring process for everyone involved.

3) Streamlined Credentials

The online portfolio expands on the benefits of the virtual resume by giving job hunters the chance to gather and show off all of their best work in one place. Again, a range of sites exist for the sole purpose of providing users with an easy platform from which to display their work; some sites even specialize by field, exclusively catering to graphic designers, writers, or academics, for example. In combination, the virtual resume and the online portfolio paint a detailed and comprehensive picture of the talents an individual has to offer.

5 websites for your virtual resume or portfolio

Ultimately, the key to becoming a virtual hot commodity is staying marketable, and the key to doing this is building a professional and current online presence. An online resume or portfolio proves to employers that an individual can create something meaningful while working under self-direction. The better an individual’s online presence, the more opportunity he or she has to be seen by, and to impress, companies looking to hire.

carbonmade_logo Carbonmade – Use Carbonmade to build and manage an online portfolio for free. Especially good for designers, illustrators, and digital media professionals, the site provides personalization and performance, with a polished interface sure to impress potential employers.
opresume logo OPResume – On top of allowing users to create an online resume and portfolio in the same place, OPResume offers a number of additional free resources, such as job search tools, message boards, and industry news.
optimalresume logo Optimal Resume – Optimal Resume’s award-winning suite of online tools helps job seekers research careers, build better resumes, manage their portfolios online, and develop a personal web brand. The site even allows users to create a video resume, which communicates not just qualifications, but personality.
visualcv logo VisualCV – free to use, and has a straightforward interface that allows for easy customization. Users may create multiple resumes, and can even include audio and video content to supplement their qualifications. The site then provides each user with a unique URL that they can share with employers, customers, and colleagues.

 jobspice logo

Job Spice – a free online resume builder, allows you to choose from 10 unique resume designs and instantly publish to PDF format. For $20 a year, subscribers have access to 30 resume styles, an ability to create a website for their resume, and access to resume experts. Sample resumes are viewable and getting started is easy.
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About the Author

Obreanna McReynolds is a guest blogger for Pounding the Pavement and a writer on career training for Guide to Career Education.

If you liked this article, you'll enjoy A Simple Way To Create A Professional-Looking Resume and Post It Online.

Subscribe to JobMob via RSS or email and follow me on Twitter for more cutting edge resume resources.

Jacob Share

Job Search Expert, Professional Blogger, Creative Thinker, Community Builder with a sense of humor. I like to help people.

This Post Has 20 Comments

  1. Daniel Alfon

    Thanks Jacob!

    Thanks for pointing out those interesting websites. Designers and visual artists may also want to look up http://www.behance.net/

    My favorite is visualcv

  2. Jacob Share

    Daniel- thanks for the extra site, Behance is definitely a good one.

  3. Andy O'Dower

    If you have at least a 3.0+ GPA from a 4yr University, you could be eligible to get a virtual resume from my company http://beyondcredentials.com.

    See mine here: http://andy.beyondcredentials.com

    We are members-only, and are building a community of great companies so I encourage you to check it out.

    Thanks!
    Andy

  4. Nick Schaefer

    Good article on a good topic. However, I think LinkedIn is a wonderful tool for both one’s portfolio and resume.

  5. Kevin Conrad

    Great resources. I made my own from scratch, though.

  6. sol jacobs

    Isn’t your life more than a one page resume?

    It is very hard to get all your talents and attributes on a standard one page resume. And it is impossible for a over worked recruiter to notice them among all the text and among all the resumes… he receives.

    You only have about 10 seconds to get his attention before he moves on to the next resume.

    http://www.romshu.com/ allows you to show your 5 best qualifications up front and then back them up with text, pictures, videos, soundbites and slide shows.

  7. Pingback: Twitter Personal Branding Q + A #16 | Marietta GA | Marietta Georgia Online

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