There were a number of interesting articles in Forbes recently. The key points were:
80% of all open positions are not advertised
For any given position, 118 people apply; 20% will get interviews.
Talent management software will weed out 50% of all resumes before anyone even looks at the resume
On average, interviews last 40 minutes and a decision is communicated in 24 hours to 2 weeks later
In the US, more than 40% of candidates are uncomfortable negotiating salary resulting in more than $500000 in lost income by the time they reach 60
Last year, employers reported that 56% of their job offers were rejected.
56% of employers are impressed by a job applicant’s personal website, more than any other personal branding source . . . fewer than 7% of job applicants have a website.
What a personal website does is allow you to offer an employer an insight into your personality beyond what your resume is telling them about it (which usually if nothing) and allows you to “control” your brand.
By controling your brand, I mean that when firms or recruiters search you, they will find your website relatively quickly and, thus, what you want them to know about you.
You don’t want to discuss politics or religion on the site, nor have it look incomplete. You want it to provide your thoughts, opinions and idea about professional matters and not, for lack of a better term, “nonsense.”
Obviously, if you are in a creative field, a personal website is an absolute requirement as a home for your portfolio and your evolution.
But beyond that, make sure that it includes a great headline derived form your elevator pitch, your contact information (but not your address), a bio, your resume, a professional summary of your experience, results and/or successes, links to articles you’ve written, podcasts you’ve recorded, professional organizations you’re a member of, videos you’ve recorded and testimonials and endorsements.
Given how popular websites are with employers, shouldn’t you be proactive?
© 2013 Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter, Inc. 2013
