WEBSITES ARE THE NEW BUSINESS CARDS GSO Peer Professionalization Workshop 2 September 28, 2016 Matthew John Hadodo

Peer Professionalization Welcome to the second in a three part series on using online resources to transition from graduate school to a career in either academia or industry. –Social Media –Website Design –Online Networking 1

Reflection What is your current personal/professional situation? Who are you as a person? Who are you as an academic/professional? What are your current personal/professional goals? Do you have your own website? Which website builders have you heard of? What do you hope to accomplish today broadly? What are specific takeaways you hope to leave with? 2

Why Websites? A growing number of professionals, academic or otherwise, have their own websites Expected in increasing digital age Just as social media builds online presence so do websites –Delve much deeper into your professional background –Add a lot more personality More and more positions google you before even considering interview So many affordable options 3

Professional Characterized by representing you in the primary role you want: –Student –Professor –Researcher –Industry Leader –Freelancer –Worker Articles to boost citations Portfolio to increase job requests CV for hireability Photos for memorability Link to social media and other sites for presence 4

Personal Characterized by who you are as an individual –Some overlap with professional –Important to maintain distinctions More flexible –Blogs –Photos of travels –Videos of things of interest –Very structured/Abstract Increase relatability –Use photos –Somewhat humorous/upbeat Link to social media and other sites 5

Technobabble Domains Website name Acts like a phone number, giving access to content Servers/Hosts The actual website space itself Acts like a blank page for you to fill in 6 Providers GoDaddy Bluehost Inmotion

Site Builders Free Site Builders Blogger Google sites Pitt sites Free/Pay Site Builders Square Space* Weebly Wix WordPress 7

Making Choices Free is fine –Pay options don’t make much difference for basic needs HTML based can be tricky –Blogger –Pitt (not intuitive) –Weebly User-friendly interfaces –Weebly (limited drag/drop) –Wix (extended drag and drop) –WordPress (more templates) 8

Working Together Choosing domains/servers/site builders depends on your interests, goals and finances Most free site builders provide everything you need and then some Don’t pay unless you NEED much higher quality output –Monetized website for a career –File taxes as a home business It can be a real time commitment –You reap what you sow “Trial and Error” is not a problem –Can quickly refund impulse purchases if regret 9

Design Features Know your audience –Who are you targeting? –What and Why –Determines content and execution People are visual –Photos and videos contextualize –Color is a good thing –White space is a good thing –Strategically placed photos help –Use current, updated photos of yourself Unless you are a musician/singer- NO songs –Very ‘90s midi 10

Take Away Tips Have as many opportunities to promote yourself as possible –Personal and professional website –Have them link to one another and other social media Keep your goals in mind with each site –What do you need on a professional website to show that you are great at doing X and can add something interesting to it –What is something about yourself that potential employers might normally not get the chance to learn otherwise Photos and videos when appropriate are advised –Increases memorability Consistency among different sites is best approach –As long as you follow each site’s format, style etc. (go with the flow) Daily use is not necessary, but be more active than passive –Even just weekly activity increases exposure Have fun! 11