In this newsletter:
📝 Post: Should Your Resume Be a Website?
🗞️ In Case You Missed It: Tech Headlines
😎 Pick of the Week: How to and Life Skills
📦 Featured Product: Custom Key Caps
📝 Should Your Resume Be a Website?
When was the last time you updated your resume? If you are looking for a job, then probably more recent than most. Whether your job hunting or not, having an up to date resume, CV, or portfolio that lives on the web can be very useful. Now to dig through your flashdrives to find your most recent copy…
If you do play to apply for a new job anytime soon, having a physical resume is probably useless. The digital copy, however, is worth keeping around. Most companies only allow applying online, and even then, you have to copy and paste your information into boxes on their site outlining your education, experience, and skills. Hopefully, you at least try to keep your resume updated once a year or so.
And there’s the problem. A typical resume is essentially a snapshot of a moment in time when it was last updated. Updating it frequently almost feels daunting, too. You have to be on the computer where the file is stored, then you have to make a backup, maybe even email it to yourself, and things just become cumbersome. Which means you put it off or don’t do it.
When you finally decide to update it, you have to remember every little thing you did: finished projects, earned a certification or award, gave a presentation, published an article, among many other personalized achievements.
What I would like to suggest you create is a digital version of your CV. This can include a lot of the same things in your typical resume, but more personalized, personable, and much more interactive. The most basic example of this is a LinkedIn profile. This is a great, basic start, but LinkedIn can have issues with privacy, sharing, and it limits what you can actually put on your profile. Things you can add to your CV/portfolio can include many of the same things as a typical resume:
Work experience
Education
Certifications
Major projects
Presentations
Publications
Awards
Professional organizations
Volunteer work
Software or technical skills
However, now each item can be hyperlinked. The link could take someone to your companies’ websites, social media pages, or even to a specific project. Certifications can link to the organization in question or even let someone see the PDF version of your certification. A link for a presentation could allow the slides to be viewed.
Then, you could even include digital assets that can’t be shared easily:
Audio files
Pictures
Videos
PDFs
Links to products or services (books, courses, apps)
Links to social media sites
Essentially, anything that can be shared on the internet can now be shared in your new digital CV. You also don’t have to think of this as a job-hunting tool. This digital CV can become your ultimate social media platform. It tells anyone anything and everything about who you are. Sharing the link will allow others to not only read but see what kind of work you do. The information here can potentially help you earn a speaking gig at a conference, too. The next time someone asks for a bio, you can simply share a link. Or you can use this for your current job the next time an annual evaluation comes up, and you’re asked to provide a list of your accomplishments over the last year.
This “link” can also be accessed via a domain you’ve purchased. Perhaps your FirstNameLastName.com? I wouldn’t share this without providing an example, now, would I?
If you visit GarrettWheat.com and scroll down to the button that says, “Full Resume/CV,” you will be sent to my personal digital portfolio stored on Notion.com. This can easily and generally quickly be edited to stay up to date with all the happenings in my personal and professional career.
Keep in mind, when you do need a resume, you can use this new digital CV to pick and choose what should be on your “one-pager,” then link to your new expanded CV.
As mentioned, I used Notion to create my digital CV, but there are plenty of other options. They include:
Worst case — a link to a Word Document or PDF stored in the cloud (e.g., Dropbox, OneDrive)
What’s important to note: the website used is not where the focus should be placed. It is a tool to help record a list of your professional work. Use what you are comfortable with and what works for you. It can be as simple or extravagant as you want it to be. For example, if your professional work is more portfolio focused, check out my buddy’s sites: ClintSelf.com and MeltdownIllustration.com.
I’ll leave you with one quick note of caution. Remember that anything put online is accessible at any time from anyone. Make sure you don’t share private information like addresses, phone numbers, or emails that you intend to keep private. If you share any projects from work, make sure you have permission first. There are a lot of things I do at work I am unable to share. Believe me though - they are really cool and I did an amazing job!
So, if someone asked you today to show some of your work from the past five years, would you know where to send them?
🗞️ ICYMI: Tech Headlines
Apple’s Cook Says He ‘Will Miss This Work’ in Final Memo as CEO
Google Won’t Be Forced To Sell Ad Tech Business Despite Monopoly, Judge Rules
Sony and Microsoft say they’re not obligated to pass U.S. tariff refunds to consumers
Tesla Begins Offering Rides in a Car Without a Steering Wheel
Xbox Cloud Gaming is getting monthly time limits, and you’ll be able to pay for more
😎 POTW: How to and Life Skills
Here’s a couple of random picks that help you and help you help others!
📦 Featured Product
Do you have a normal keyboard that you’d like to personalize a bit? Well, depending on the keyboard you have, did you know you can replace the key caps? Here’s some examples of what you can replace them with:
