When there’s a job to be filled, hiring managers must typically weed through piles of applications. They skim resumes and CVs to determine who’s worthy of a closer look. Your resume has mere seconds to make the kind of impression that inspires that particular manager to want to toss it into the “keep” pile. So, what makes the difference? You’ve heard it time and time again but I’ll say it once more: your personal brand makes the difference.
Now before you click off of this article, there are a few points that I want to make on exactly HOW to use your personal brand to make that impression.
First off, let me say that I’ve been in the position of sifting through resumes and interviewing potential candidates. They all had similar degrees and work experience, which simply leveled the playing field. Apart from noticing a bunch of clones applying for one job, I needed to focus on what stood out about each one of them. What made one applicant appear different and more interesting than the others?
The “It” Factor
What made a real difference in how I perceived an applicant was if (and how) their personality showed through and how they used that to set themselves apart from the other equally qualified applicants. The way you’re perceived in any media becomes your personal brand.
I absolutely understand that all of us want to be seen and heard, and we all want to be respected and treated like the human beings we are. I hear ya. We’re not simply “candidates” but people. Individuals. And having said that, I’ll also say that screening heaps of resumes that pretty much all say the same thing is mind-numbing. It feels like a bright, warm ray of sunshine breaking through the clouds, while the hallelujah choir simultaneously bursts into song when that one special resumé explodes into sight.
So what makes that difference? A couple of things, actually. Telling a story is one of them. HOW the story is told is the other. Together, these two things, whether you’re aware of it or not, whether you like it or not, become your personal brand.
You have a personal brand regardless of whether or not you’ve put any thought into it. Doesn’t it make sense to intentionally cultivate a personal brand and then use it strategically?
Qualified or Not
Historically, hiring committees prefer the kind of applicant who is a straightforward match. That applicant has gone to the right kind of schools and they have the right kind of degrees and they have applicable work experience aligning with the desired job.
But not all qualified applicants have traveled that route. There is another kind of potential candidate who’s traveled a more circuitous route, like me. Sure, we have the degrees and the experience necessary, but along the way, we may also have held jobs that don’t quite relate or add relevant experience (or qualify us) for the job at hand. In that case, we need to tell the story of our personal growth. Why? Because you see the obvious connections between those former positions and the one you’re seeking, but Human Resources may not. So explain it to them. Guide them through your educational process and those previous job positions to demonstrate how each of them relates to the job you’re currently seeking. What did you learn with each of those jobs? And what does each lesson have to do with the job you’re applying for? Do you see how this makes your resume not only more interesting and engaging, but it also points out to the reader that you’re bringing more value to the table than they originally thought? Those seemingly “unrelated” positions that you’ve held actually bring something important to the company and to the position itself that the other applicants simply lack. Suddenly, an ill-perceived, minimally-qualified job-hopper is now seen as a qualified, multi-skilled, pertinently experienced candidate. They also happen to be perceived as “different” and interesting, because they talk about how they got to where they are now.
The Edge
I say it a lot and I’ll say it again: perception is everything. Regina Hartley, human resources executive at UPS, says “A series of odd jobs may indicate inconsistency, lack of focus, unpredictability. Or it may signal a committed struggle against obstacles”. Overcoming obstacles is also known as “Post-Traumatic Growth.”
When we realize that we are not who we are in spite of adversity, but because of it, that story becomes a heckuva lot more interesting and important to tell, wouldn’t you agree?
Our professional stories are a means to an end. Hiring managers and search committees will piece together a personal brand about you anyway, so give yourself the gift of time to hone and share yours.
You Might Consider-
In a shameless effort at self-promotion, my company, ImageandAspect.com, can create a great-looking custom resumé or CV for you.
A Resumé, Portfolio or CV page is perfect for job-seekers and professionals alike. An online resumé or portfolio allows you to visually express your personality in ways that are not always possible on paper. Use photos, videos and/or animations… upload publications… include personal works of art, drawings or music. Show who you are and what you can do. Your personal brand makes the difference. Be seen. Be heard. Be known.
All packages are beautifully responsive & look great on mobile devices.
“Website design and development” is the creative and technical process of building a website.
A website is a unique interface that connects people to a brand. If we’re talking about an eCommerce store, the site would also provide a convenient and obvious way for customers to buy or order products and services.
Before building a website, you should evaluate your business processes. If you’re a seller, think about your product or service and the specific customer base you’re targeting.
A very common approach for our clients is to request multiple concepts (mock-ups) at the beginning of their web development project. They believe that this will give them a sense of control over the site’s look and feel. Inevitably though, there will be elements from each design that they like, leading to the “picking and choosing” of various elements from each mock-up. Here’s the problem: elements from different designs are not necessarily compatible or even easily combined, and they don’t always present a cohesive or attractive design. This can lead to an inconsistent and possibly amateurish-look. This is jokingly called a “Frankenstein” approach.
So we use a collaborative approach with our clients instead, to shape the design as it’s created.
It’s very important that all parties have a clear understanding of the project goals and the expectations of the website, and it’s target audience. Knowing these will guide the decisions that will be made during the development of the site.
In the same manner, if you’re creating the website yourself, you need to be clear on why you need a website, what its goals are, how you will measure its productivity, who your target audience is, and why.
Producing a quality product takes time. Take that time to explore these questions and answer them honestly.
There are a few other topics to think about before developing your site. Here are a few of them:
Your Domain Name
When thinking about your domain name choice, remember that a good domain name is memorable, reflects your brand, and is nearly impossible to misspell. These qualities are important. Combining Search Engine Optimization (SEO) with brand-identity in your domain name can increase the likelihood of your site appearing higher in a list of search engine results.
Your Site’s Design
Design is subjective. “Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder”, am I right? So…. having said that, we all need to remember that there is no such thing as the “perfect” design. The desire to achieve perfection leads to “tweak” after “tweak” in order to get it “right”. This isn’t a wise use of your budget or time. You may personally like it, but the site may not achieve your goals or be as user-friendly or effective as it could be. It’s important that the site looks great, yes, but it’s equally as important for it to function properly, be user-friendly, be mobile-responsive and achieve its’ goals.
Your Site’s Security
Websites that conduct online monetary transactions,
such as e-commerce sites, need certain security measures to protect customer
information. To reduce browser-based threats, SSL certificates should be used
on the site. All businesses should
conduct on-going security checks on their site, or have them performed by a
security service.
Your Content
It’s necessary to have high quality, original content on
your site, not only for user engagement but for SEO. Content affects your
site’s ranking in search engine results. Each web page should have at least 150 words and should
include links to credible online resources and
other pages within your website. Your content should be written to echo your
brand. Use a free plagiarism detection tool to ensure that there isn’t
accidental plagiarism in your content. (Google penalizes plagiarism, and they may
remove your site from search engine results.)
Your Images
Everything on a website is considered to be intellectual property and is protected under copyright law. If you plan to use stock photos, they may still be copyright-protected. Using copyrighted images can result in stiff penalties. When using stock images, make sure you have written permission to use them and that you pay any relevant fees.
You can
also use copyright-free images, but be sure you’ve read their terms of use
beforehand.
Your Site’s Style
Think about whether you prefer an uncluttered, muted, minimalistic look with lots of white space, or whether you’d rather have a bright and bold design. Look at several sites within your niche to get ideas.
Your Site’s Goals
Determine what you want your website to do. Once you know exactly what you want
to achieve with your site, it will be much easier to design a site that
delivers those results.
A goal of “Being #1 on Google” or “getting more traffic” should
not be the main goal. That kind of SEO takes time, effort and dedication. SEO is
an ongoing process, best done by professionals who do it for a living.
Knowing your site’s goals will help provide value for your business.
Your Timeline
Do you need this project done in a rush? Is there a specific date you have in mind for its’ launch? Make sure your timeline is realistic considering your skill level, knowledge, and experience in creating websites and promoting them.
Maintenance: who will maintain your site?
A website is kind of like a car; it requires ongoing care and support. Your site may function beautifully today and not so well next year. There are ongoing costs for keeping your site fresh and functional, and there are also costs to you for NOT doing it: like diminished readership, fewer sales, low search-engine rankings, lost clients and customers, high bounce rates, malware, legal issues, broken links, 404 errors, and website repairs that will cost you time and/or money.
If you plan to update the site yourself and do not want to get into the code to do it, then you need a CMS (Content Management System). A CMS handles lots of the technical aspects of a website, like allowing non-developers to easily upload and manage their content.
A CMS can also be used for creating an online community, allowing visitors to create accounts and have their own pages.
Do you need a CMS? Ask
yourself these questions:
What kind of website will it be? Will it be a personal blog? Or a portfolio site with
contact information? A store?
What’s your budget? WordPress is
free, though you’ll still need to purchase your own domain name, hosting, and
any commercial “plugins” or templates that you need.
How many users, contributors, or admins are you going to have? How many people are going to contribute to your site? Do
they need individualized permissions? WordPress allows you to define
different kinds of contributors.
What are your site-updating needs? Will your site be mostly text and images, or will you need
to support multimedia or interactive components like a shopping cart? How much
control do you need over the look of your site?
The more complex your needs, the more you might benefit from a maintenance plan with us, or if you prefer the doing the maintenance and updating yourself, using the WordPress CMS would be a good solution.
Your Hosting Provider
A Hosting Provider is a company that provides
storage space for your site on their server, for a fee. It’s basically where
your websites “lives”.
The kind of hosting you’ll
need is determined by these factors: will the site be static (unchanging) or
dynamic (interacting with users or changing frequently)? Does the site require
room to grow? (By the way, using a personal computer for hosting is very risky,
not recommended, and it requires a costly static IP address.)
Traditional Hosting: With this kind of hosting, the server is housed in a data
center, managed by the hosting company, and requires a subscription to
different standardized packages that suit current or future site needs. There’s
a risk of paying for more resources than are actually needed, or paying for
fewer resources than what will be needed in the future.
Shared Hosting: Still traditional, but
your website shares server resources with other websites, depending on the servers’
capacity. How much your site gets depends on the hosting package you purchase.
Because resources are shared, bandwidth can vary, causing slower page loading,
or 404 “page not found” errors. You might be charged “over-usage” fees when the
site uses more resources than the package provides, and you’ll be required to
upgrade your hosting package, moving the site to a different server and setting
it up from scratch; re-uploading all files, photos etc., and the site being
down 24-48 hours during transition.
Dedicated Hosting: Still traditional, but
all server resources are used for only your website. Much more power, but much
more expensive. There’s still the risk
of paying for more resources than your site requires, or of not buying enough
resources for what site will require later. Administration costs can go up too,
and “over-usage” fees still apply.
Virtual Private/Dedicated Hosting: Still traditional, but resources are shared among sites, but
significantly fewer sites. “Over-usage” fees still apply when the site uses
more resources than the package provides, and you’ll be required to upgrade the
hosting package. Again, this means moving the site to a different (dedicated)
server, and setting it up from scratch; re-uploading all files, photos, etc.,
and the site being down 24-48 hours during the transition.
Cloud Hosting: Very flexible and highly scalable. Cloud hosting uses multiple
servers that are housed in data-centers around the world. The servers combine
as a total “pool” of resources which scale up and down according to website
needs, creating a virtual server. Resource allocation is not fixed: you only
pay for what is used.
Choosing the best hosting solution comes down to what’s “right”
for the business right now while projecting into the next three years of
growth.
Your Color Scheme
Color schemes are important because color has the ability to evoke various emotional responses. It’s vital to consider your company’s niche, target audience, brand, and to incorporate some very basic color theory. Which colors will your target audience respond to? What colors will best convey your brand?
The Website’s Integration with Your Social Media
Social media provides a way for customers to promote your
brand, provide reviews, and stay current about you or your company. Written and
visual content, including product images and video, can easily be shared on
Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, etc. by simply including the
relevant buttons on your site.
Do You Want to Rent or Own Your Website?
By
contracting with us to design and code your site, you will OWN your site. Many
people don’t even realize that there is an issue of “ownership” to be
considered.
When you own your site, you possess the “source code” that was used to develop the site. Without these documents, it would not be possible for you or another developer to edit the pages, or troubleshoot issues in the future. To maintain control over your site, you need to have these source files.
When
you contract with Image and Aspect, you always
get your source files at the end of the project.
Renting
You’re renting your site when you use a “hosted platform” package-solution, (D-I-Y) which is considered to be “Software as a Service” (SaaS), and it has lower up-front investment cost. Examples: Wix and Shopify.
Owning
Owning requires a custom solution, and there’s a higher up-front investment for this dedicated development. Owning allows for customization and integration with 3rd party services, provides greater flexibility and room for expansion.
Summary
Before diving in and creating your website, take the time to explore the answers to some basic questions. Figure out what you want your website to do and how you want it to look and function.
Take the time to read, research, and learn. Draw or sketch your ideas for the site, or create mockups. Take my advice: doing these things will save you a lot of frustration, stress and lost time.
I developed Image and Aspect because I believe that professionals need to have an impactful web presence. One that showcases their unique talents, skills, and abilities as well as their values and style. A presence that focuses on social engagement and connection.
I’m passionate about what I do; I like helping fellow humans, I like having all kinds of social connection with others, and I want to give back, to make the world a better place.
I do much of the designing and coding myself, and I also have a wonderful network of professionals that may contribute as well; photographers, copywriters, branding experts.
I love designing and coding beautiful, elegant and responsive web creations. I ALSO teach and help others who want to learn how to do it themselves.
‘Tips and Snips’ is my blog, and it’s full of information and inspiration to help transform any online persona from “meh” to AMAZING! Sign-up HERE to get blog posts right to your in-box every Friday! I write about Design, Marketing, Search Engine Optimization, Branding, Vlogging, Color Theory, HTML5, CSS3, Bootstrap, WordPress, Social Media…anything you’d want to know to get yourself noticed online.
Many people don’t even realize that there is an issue of “ownership” to be considered when they think about building a website.
As with anything else, there are pros and cons to consider.
A big consideration is that when you own your site, you possess the “source code” that was used to develop the site. Without these code-files, (or WordPress files) it would not be possible for you or another developer to edit the pages, or to troubleshoot issues in the future.
To maintain control over your site, you need to have these source files.
When you contract with Image and Aspect, you always get your source files at the end of the project. You own them. Just sayin’.
Here are some pointers to help you learn the difference between renting and owning your site.
Renting
When you use a “hosted platform” package-solution, (Do-It-Yourself) it’s considered to be “Software as a Service” (SaaS) and you are renting your website from them. It’s usually a monthly or annual subscription and it has a lower up-front investment cost. Examples: Wix and Shopify.
Owning
Owning requires a custom solution, and there’s a higher up-front investment for this dedicated development. Owning allows for customization and integration with 3rd party services, provides greater flexibility plus there’s room for expansion. There is also less of a chance that you’ll pay for services that you’re not using. Basically you own your piece of web real estate and you can do what you want with it. Let’s think “keeping it within legal parameters .”
What Renters Can Expect
Easy for Do-It-Yourselfers.
Lower cost of entry.
Various paid subscription levels (free, starter, pro, etc.)
Add-on modules, plugins or extensions purchased from a dedicated “marketplace”.
One combined service for hosting, payment processing, and website administration.
A wide selection of design templates (some are free).
The Downside of Renting
No equity! When your subscription ends, the time, money and effort you put into building the website are lost.
Incremental costs add up. With every add-on, a new cost emerges that is often higher than the original subscription fee. There will be a monthly fee for that one item for the rest of the duration of the website.
Possibly little flexibility on the required services for payment processing, hosting, data warehousing.
Limited customization for design.
If you leave the platform, all the investment in design and development is lost. You can’t take it with you when you move to another hosting provider/webserver. You have to start over.
What Owners Can Expect
Customization tailored to specific business requirements.
Scalable for future growth.
Integration with external services.
Open architecture allows for development, the code is portable and not tied to an organization.
Freedom of choice for your web hosting, payment processing, and website administration.
Important as sales volume increases and competitive processing and transaction fees become critical.
Accommodates creative innovations as opposed to waiting for the hosted platform to release updates or fixes.
The Downside of Owning
A higher cost of entry.
Must be actively maintained – if the site is not maintained through a web developer, (or someone who knows how to code or how to develop with WordPress) there will be no innovation, no new features, no security patching. Eventually, a website will become obsolete as code and formats change over time.
Time constraints – building a custom site requires a collaborative effort and considerable thought and engagement from the site owner.
As with everything, there are costs either way. Financial costs, opportunity costs, perceived value costs. The best way to decide on whether to rent or own your website is to look at your long term business goals.
When you’re business takes off and you’re renting your site, will you want or be able to take the time to stay current on how to use the platform? Will you be able to set aside time to update the content, or be on the phone with technical support or Billing? Do you feel comfortable making scheduled full-backups and storing them off-site where they’ll be secure but still easy to find when you need them? Will you feel comfortable restoring your site from a backup if you make a mistake on the site and don’t know how to fix it? Will you have the time and the inclination to research the latest Google SEO changes or the newest security threats? Will you feel comfortable making these changes? Will you be able to quickly and easily find your log-in information, your API keys, and/or your font or photo licenses if a component of your site stops working? Will you keep up with all expiration dates for your domain name, SSL certificates, sub-domains, etc, so nothing accidentally expires? If something expires would you know what to do or who to contact? Do you feel comfortable troubleshooting and fixing text formatting, images, or email issues? If you can do these things, and more importantly you’d ENJOY doing them, well that’s just swell! 🙂
But do yourself a favor and hire a professional. You’re not a web developer already! (unless you are) LOL!
If you choose the DIY route and you get in over your head, you can always call me. I promise not to say I told you so. 🙂
I developed Image and Aspect because I believe that professionals need to have an impactful web presence. One that showcases their unique talents, skills, and abilities as well as their values and style. A presence that focuses on social engagement and connection.
I’m passionate about what I do; I like helping fellow humans, I like having all kinds of social connection with others, and I want to give back, to make the world a better place.
I do much of the designing and coding myself, and I also have a wonderful network of professionals that may contribute as well; photographers, copywriters, branding experts.
I love designing and coding beautiful, elegant and responsive web creations. I ALSO teach and help others who want to learn how to do it themselves.
‘Tips and Snips’ is my blog, and it’s full of information and inspiration to help transform any online persona from “meh” to AMAZING! Sign-up HERE to get blog posts right to your in-box every Friday! I write about Design, Marketing, Search Engine Optimization, Branding, Vlogging, Color Theory, HTML5, CSS3, Bootstrap, WordPress, Social Media…anything you’d want to know to get yourself noticed online.
Let’s learn about six common image file formats and the different content-types that they each support, such as images, video, and text. I briefly describe each of these files, list the pros and cons of each, and where the particular file format is best utilized.
Pretty soon you’ll understand the differences between these six common image file formats and you’ll know which one to use for all of your digital needs.
6 common image formats: how to use them
JPEG, JPG (Joint Photographic Experts Graphics)
JPG’s are the most common of the six common iamge file formats out there. Digital cameras use the JPG file format, and internet images are displayed using this format as well. This file format is based on “Lossy Compression”, meaning that it keeps only the visible information and discards any information that our eyes can’t actually see. JPG’s popularity comes from its ability to load fast on any platform while maintaining good quality, and because it can be viewed on any type of device. The downside is that any time a JPG image is saved, (basically re-compressing it each time), it loses quality and becomes grainy or pixelated.
PRO’s: lightweight and view-able on almost any device without special programs or viewers. CONS: loses quality when saved repeatedly. Best for: web design, social platforms, and portfolios.
PNG (Portable Network Graphics)
A PNG is a high-quality image file format, based on “lossless compression”. PNG has the ability to retain the original sharpness and color of the saved image, and it supports transparent backgrounds, which is great for displaying logos or when using an image on a patterned or colored background. They’re a larger file format and use more storage space then JPG’s, so they take more time to load.
PROS: high-quality, support transparent backgrounds. CONS: heavyweight, longer loading time, takes up more storage. Best For: logos, websites photos, profile pics, posts, covers.
GIF (Graphics Interchange Format)
GIF, for many of us, means animation. GIF’s are made of pixels, just like JPEG’s and PNG format types, but GIF’s are based on the “LZW (Lempel-Ziv-Welch) compression”, which is also a type of lossless compression. GIF is best for images that contain fewer colors, like diagrams, and shapes. GIF’s also support transparent backgrounds.
PROS: basic animation, transparency. CONS: poor gradient color display. Not good for multi-color images. Best For: short animations on social media.
PDF (Portable Document Format)
PDF’s are used for online documents. The PDF format was created by Adobe so that files could be opened and displayed without losing their original formatting or design. Photos, images, videos, audio files, interactive elements like forms or buttons, as well as text, can all be included inside a PDF file. PDF’s can be created in Adobe products like Acrobat, Photoshop, Illustrator, and Indesign, as well as with Google Docs, Microsoft Word and many others. To view PDF’s, you need to have a reader program (special software) installed.
PROS: keeps formatting and design of the original document. CONS: need PDF Reader to view. Best For: online forms, documents and printing them.
SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics)
SVG is a format for saving and displaying “vectors”, which are digital illustrations made with geometric shapes and created with “vector illustration software”. SVG’s look very clean and professional and can be displayed on all web browsers. They’re a good format for printing because they maintain their high quality when resized. It’s a good idea to save logos and other visual business resources as an SVG file as well as other formats like PNG and JPEG.
PROS: doesn’t lose quality when resized. CONS: SVG’s aren’t supported by social media. Best For: web design, illustrated business resources like logos, icons, diagrams.
MP4 (Moving Picture Experts Group)
Of the six common image file formats, MP4 files are video files that may also contain audio data and/or text subtitles. MP4’s are lightweight and can be uploaded quickly to websites or social media networks. They can be played on media players or streamed over the Internet, without the need to use a special application or program.
PROS: lightweight, plays on all common media players, streams online. CONS: none. Best For: websites and social media.
I developed Image and Aspect because I believe that professionals need to have an impactful web presence. One that showcases their unique talents, skills, and abilities as well as their values and style. A presence that focuses on social engagement and connection.
I’m passionate about what I do; I like helping fellow humans, I like having all kinds of social connection with others, and I want to give back, to make the world a better place.
I do much of the designing and coding myself, and I also have a wonderful network of professionals that may contribute as well; photographers, copywriters, branding experts.
I love designing and coding beautiful, elegant and responsive web creations. I ALSO teach and help others who want to learn how to do it themselves.
‘Tips and Snips’ is my blog, and it’s full of information and inspiration to help transform any online persona from “meh” to AMAZING! Sign-up HERE to get blog posts right to your in-box every Friday! I write about Design, Marketing, Search Engine Optimization, Branding, Vlogging, Color Theory, HTML5, CSS3, Bootstrap, WordPress, Social Media…anything you’d want to know to get yourself noticed online.
Image and Aspect is a solution-based web presence development service for creatives, entrepreneurs and solopreneurs. We create impactful online presences that showcase your talents, skills, values & style, while focusing on influencing, engagement & connection.
It’s a collaborative process; we use streamlined project-management & communications tools so you’ll always know what’s happening with your project. And by adding personalized service, you get one-on-one support. We want you to feel equipped, educated & empowered to ask questions & make decisions about your web presence & web platform.
Tips and Snips was born from the desire to give back; to support anyone who has an interest in learning the art and science of web design and coding.
