While I have been working on designing my new site to showcase my web design and development skills as well as my photography, I have given a lot of thought on what to include on the site. This is in addition to how I want to design the layout, the graphics, look-and-feel, etc. The main reason for the new site was to be able to get a job by demonstrating my skills both in the design and implementation of the site itself as well as the content on the site. In other words, the site is an online resume.
Both before and during this process, I’ve read stories regarding people losing out on job opportunities because of what was on their own site, Facebook, Twitter, or wherever. Others, such as Michael Phelps, have gotten into trouble from what was posted on the web by others. So how do you decide what to put on your site? How do you determine if the information that you want to include will help get you the job or prevent you from getting the job?
For example, when I had some friends review my new site design, it was recommended that I take off my Twitter feed from the front page in case I were to post something on Twitter that might not be politically correct (my words—not hers). While I try not to be inappropriate on my Twitter posts, I decided to remove the Twitter feed. (After all, why ask for recommendations from people you respect if you are not going to listen to them?)
After a lot of consideration, I’ve decided to fall back to my normal philosophy about deciding what to include on the site. As a rule, I will not say something behind someone’s back or, in this case, on the web that I would not be willing to say to their face. This isn’t to say that I never say anything that gets me into trouble, but I think it serves me well most of the time.
Hopefully, I’ve been successful in deciding what to include and how to present it. The new site is in it’s infancy and will continue to evolve as I think of new things to include and possibly learn new techniques on how to do them.
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