<aside> ✅ FACT: 56% of all hiring managers are more impressed by a candidate’s personal website than any other personal branding tool — however, only 7% of job seekers actually have a personal website. (source)
</aside>
I started a new service — cleverly titled, “Job Search as a Service” — to help young people who don’t have much, if any experience, land a job in tech.
My first client is a 23-year-old aspiring product designer who has little-to-no “real” work projects to showcase, despite completing a product design bootcamp and having a few jobs under his belt.
He’s been able to land interviews with a few startups, but he’s been unable to convince any to hire him — all of them saying the same thing, “You don’t have any real work projects to show me...”
<aside> ⚠️ His lack of “real” projects is not the problem though. He could — and other people without “real” experience land jobs all the time without a portfolio of real, client case studies.
</aside>
... My client has tried to circumvent this “real work” issue by sharing personal side-projects on his personal portfolio website, but adding these is actually hurting him because they look amateur and provide no context alongside the screenshots.
As is, his portfolio is doing him a serious diservice because it gives off this junior-level vibe, despite the fact that he wants to be making at least $100,000 to start.
In order to get him everything his heart desires, we’re doing a portfolio redesign sprint.
By the time we’re done, hiring managers will just assume he has real-world work experience because of the polished look-and-feel of the website.
And even if they do notice the “fake” projects, they won’t be detered by it because his case studies will provide the context they need to make them feel confident that this kid will execute — and execute well — if they do decide to hire him.
Build a phenomenal and impressive portfolio website using WordPress.org.
In this workshop, which you can complete in as short as one weekend, you’ll learn how to develop compelling, persuasive messaging to properly brand yourself online.
Second, you’ll learn how to transform that messaging into a beautiful showcasing of it via an aesthetically pleasing WordPress.org website.