As a recruiter, I think it probably goes without saying that I’m asked to look at a lot of resumes by people before they submit them for jobs. But since I am a technical recruiter, I get a lot of requests to look at websites and online profiles as well.
I recently had someone ask me for my opinions on his consulting site. My suggestion was to condense things and not try to make himself an expert in everything related to his industry (and to lose the personal interest section). If you add too much detail to your site, you dilute your brand and potential clients come away with an impression of "jack of all trades, master of none". Pick no more than three related skills to highlight on your website.
So earlier, one of my friends sent me a link to this site, which in turn points to *another* portfolio site as a "perfect" example of what your online resume (his word) should look like.
Site one:
<A href=http://theworkinggeek.com/2010/06/how-to-do-a-web-resume-right.html target=_blank>http://theworkinggeek.com/2010/06/how-to-do-a-web-resume-right.html</A>
The "perfect" resume site:
<A href=http://hirethisgeek.com/ target=_blank>http://hirethisgeek.com/</A>
So, here are my comments to my friend:
"Never ever ever put pictures on your resume. It is considered a way to induce discrimination in HR/Recruiting types and they tend to ignore resumes with photos, even if they are online.
If you go to his actual "resume" link it is just a list of skills, and nowhere is his actual employment history listed in reverse chronologic format."
So here is the thing: as a portfolio site to demonstrate his skills for prospective clients, I have no issue with it. But if he is using this site as his "resume" for employers vs. clients, it has issues. Photos on a resume are bad because HR has a duty to protect the employer from legal action, and it is not unusual for someone who doesn’t get a job to use tactics to try and file a discrimination lawsuit. So the answer for HR/Recruiting is to not consider resumes or CV’s with pictures on them, in North America.
It’s very important to remember that when you are job seeking that you try and put yourself in the mindset the recruiter and hiring manager are in. In this very tight competitive environment, you are trying to capture the attention of the decision makers. While it may seem creative to go outside the "established" box, I’d say that more often than not it can backfire on you. The time to prove your individuality and creativity is in the interview, when you have already proven yourself good "on paper". />