Take advantage of a personal marketing
website... and drive people to it.

ob hunting is all about getting enough of the "right people" to look at your credentials. A "Personal Marketing Website"... PMW for short, is a website that presents your universal resume... and sometimes your biography... for those who wish to review it.

What information should it contain?

When your PMW site opens, it should bring up a summary. It should enable interested parties to view a brief summary about you... one that can be read in 20 to 30 seconds. Your name and contact information should be at the top. Then the position (or positions) for which you are best qualified should be highlighted. After that you want a subset of key words that represent experience factors or skills that people normally want with the position you are seeking.

The remaining information in your summary should be the most marketable information about you. In terms of length, your full summary should be equivalent to about one-third of a normal 8-1/2 x 11" page. Besides a summary, you want a second menu button for people to click to read a brief listing of your work experience and titles held. Other menu selections should also allow people to click to your education separately, as well as your full resume, and a button for download.

Create your personal marketing website in HTML... not in "Flash." Don't go wild and overdo your presentation. It may be impressive, but it will look as if you are trying too hard. Also, including a photograph may be good if you are in a special situation, or perhaps in the broader entertainment industry, but it is usually not the approach that's best for most people.

Here's how this works at our firm.When we write resumes, we create a distinctive and professional "Personal Marketing Website." Displaying one on the web in color... is an impressive way of presenting yourself. It gives you a fast, no-cost way to get your presentation in front of the right decision makers.

How? Because you can simply send out emails with a link to your "Personal Marketing Website." All you need to do is get the names of decision makers... and emails of key employers... throughout the U.S.... or the world... in industries that are right for you... or in the area where you want to live.

Can this make networking easier?

Yes. For people you already know... all you do is send an email to let them know that you are open to new opportunities... and that you put up a new and unique "personal marketing website." And, when people see your presentation, they will be far more impressed than anything you could say over the phone.
For those with access to our Job Market Access Center (JMAC), you can even comfortably network people you don't know. For example, you can quickly get the names of alumni from your school who hold influential jobs... or others who worked with you some years ago... or executives in an industry or metro area... whose advice and referrals you'd appreciate.

Can a PMW also be used for responding to ads?

Absolutely. Mention your link in a compelling email and you'll have a surefire way to dramatically stand out from everyone else who answers an ad. The bottom line is that if you're in the market today... and don't have a "Personal Marketing Website"... you will be searching with an unnecessary competitive disadvantage.

What some people did with their personal marketing website

"I have an MBA from Columbia University. I sent an email to 400 influential graduates of Columbia, here in New York. It was all I needed."

"I got the names and corporate emails of the top 100 ad agencies in England and sent an email with a link to all of them. 11 interviews resulted."

"I sent links to everyone on my LinkedIn site and asked them to forward it to anyone who might be interested."

Your personal marketing website is your power presentation.

Recapping this chapter. This makes it easy for people to view your credentials... and especially your transferable skills. It won't be long before these websites are used by almost everyone. They can enable you to get far greater worldwide market exposure... in much less time... and with much less effort.

Quick action steps. We create these sites for clients, but you can go to one of the webpage hosting firms, or retain a firm to design and host your site. Either way, follow the guidelines and use it aggressively throughout your search.

"Nothing else in the world... all the armies... is so powerful as an idea whose time has come." — Victor Hugo